Some shots from the beach, kind of struggling

inTempus · Mar 18, 2009

I was so excited that I was coming to California this week so I could get out and take some pics after work. Last night I made it over to Newport Beach and Balboa Island to watch the sunset.

Finally I was in a place to get some really cool shots vs. the wintery drab of Indiana and Chicago.

I took about 200 pictures, but nothing felt quite right. My first mistake was not bringing my 70-200mm lens. I only brought my 24-70 and 17-40. There would have been some really great shots if I could have reached a little further. Lesson learned.

Out of all of the pics, these are all I salvaged and I'm not even really that excited about them.

Let me know what you think.

1. Sandals

2. Rusty pier bolt

3. Kelp at sunset

4. Under the pier

5. Sunset by the Lifeguard House

LaFoto · Mar 18, 2009

Well, I definitely DO like 4!!! No doubt. If only you had stepped two inches further to the right to get it totally, fully, completely symmetric. But other than that: vanishing points and repetitive elements will never fail to catch my attention! (Like "green" and "droplets" :mrgreen: ).

I really like the idea of the first.
The light was lovely. The selective focus on only the flipflops is cute. If only they were a TAD brighter, "popping" more (not only just out of the sand)...

Pity about the shallow DOF in 2 and the ever so slightly slipped focus ... the shim and the hex nut are in full focus, but the bolt as such is not... a pity. Other than that his is ONE cute concept.

As is the kelp. The lighting and cross formation of the sand adds to it, too, and the light on the "head" of the kelp.

Funnily, the real sunset shot is the one that appeals to me the least...

Big Mike · Mar 18, 2009

Nice shots.

I'm pretty sure I've had breakfast at the dinner out on the end of that pier. Also, I was taking a photo of my wife and as she was leaning against the rail, she sat on one of the little shelves...not knowing that it was there for people to cut bait on. That was a smelly mistake. :lol:

inTempus · Mar 18, 2009

Big Mike said:
Nice shots.

I'm pretty sure I've had breakfast at the dinner out on the end of that pier. Also, I was taking a photo of my wife and as she was leaning against the rail, she sat on one of the little shelves...not knowing that it was there for people to cut bait on. That was a smelly mistake.

Too cool. I think that's Ruby's, right? I didn't walk all the way down, only about half way.

I bet your wife won't make that mistake again!

inTempus · Mar 18, 2009

LaFoto said:
Well, I definitely DO like 4!!! No doubt. If only you had stepped two inches further to the right to get it totally, fully, completely symmetric.

Glad you like it. Yeah, I didn't really notice the lack of symmetry but that's easy enough to fix. I replaced the pic with a new cropped one.

I really like the idea of the first.
The light was lovely. The selective focus on only the flipflops is cute. If only they were a TAD brighter, "popping" more (not only just out of the sand)...

I liked that one too. I agree, the colors on the sandals just didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if it's the camo that makes them drab or if it's something I'm missing in PP. I'll play with it more when I get home to my desktop machine, I don't trust the monitor on my laptop.

Here's another shot of the same sandals.

Pity about the shallow DOF in 2 and the ever so slightly slipped focus ... the shim and the hex nut are in full focus, but the bolt as such is not... a pity. Other than that his is ONE cute concept.

I KNOW! That killed me too. I'm kicking myself for not stopping to zoom in on the pic to check focus before moving on... I also usually take multiple shots with different settings. In this case the aperture was set at 2.8 and I should have known that given my focus point there would be a chance the threads would be ever so slightly out of focus (1/8" difference in depth) but totally blew it.

As is the kelp. The lighting and cross formation of the sand adds to it, too, and the light on the "head" of the kelp.

I think I liked this shot more when I was looking at it, having gotten it back to my hotel room and checked it out... I don't know. I go between removing it because it's missing something to keeping it because I sort of like it.

Funnily, the real sunset shot is the one that appeals to me the least...

...I really liked it on my 3" screen, but again... I go from thinking it's a cool shot to thinking there's something off with it.

Thanks for the feedback.

Big Mike · Mar 18, 2009

Yes...Ruby's (I think). I had Rosie's in my head for some reason.

Chairman7w · Mar 18, 2009

I'm diggin those, good work Tharmsen. (especially that last sandals shot, that's my favorite)

inTempus · Mar 18, 2009

Chairman7w said:
I'm diggin those, good work Tharmsen. (especially that last sandals shot, that's my favorite)

Thank you.

LarryD · Mar 18, 2009

#4 is a good shot...

#5 would be your best if the water had been more in focus........those are the kind of shots that line the hallways in California beach homes.

Camo flip-flops just don't convey the West Coast....and they're placed for the wrong feet so it loses something .......

If you want killer West Coast Beach Photos, you need to trek to Big Sur.