Coastal studies

[Justan]

The scene below is a study of boats at their home port. I liked that that the village was just steps away from a fleet of weathered sea boats. It tells a different story than docks in urban settings. These are mostly charters, used to earn a living, and not the typical lake or river bound trophies.

I applied a touch of something pretending to be the Orton effect on the boats to soften them a tad under the brilliant daylight. Not sure if I’m satisfied. Maybe this kind of scene should only be done on foggy day with misty water, or during a brilliant sun-rise or -set.



Link to larger image.

The one below was captured moments before sunset. The large rock in the mid-distance is the famous Haystack rock off of Cannon Beach, Oregon.



Link to larger image.

The following one was captured a little while later. This is the result of 11 roughly 30-second long exposures that were stitched together. I don’t know the name of planet a little above the horizon on the far right, but the brilliant light below it was a working dock a few miles to the south. I like what it does for the image but some don’t.  I’m going to have to visit this location again and re-do this scene later on a clear night, with a billion stars overhead. It will be well worth the 200 mile drive.



Link to larger image.


Thanks for having a look!

[bill t.]

Beautiful work Justan!  You can quit your day job now.

I am partial to #1 both because it's a nice image and it has a foreground.  There is something about a close-in foreground that is comforting.  I especially like foregrounds that give the viewer a place to enter the image and stand.  You see it all the time in classic landscape paintings and I think people respond very favorably to it.  The vegetation here does not exactly invite standing, but at least it's a very solid base that in some way offers the viewer a certain stability.

I like the last two less because they leave the viewer hanging space.  Of course I'm mega picky here over nice shots.  But I honestly think those would work better if they had some sort of base at the bottom, like the edge of a hill, or even relatively nearby water that was significantly darker than the more distant water.  Certain unscrupulous photographers have even been known to mask in nearby unrelated foregrounds in these cases, can you believe it?  Wildflowers are nice.

But that's just me.  The world should be a big room with interesting things in it that you can walk right up to.  Right.

[Justan]

Thanks for the complement and great feedback!

[bill t.]

I just realized that there I went laying down critique on pictures not in the Critique Forum.

What's the difference anyway?  Seems like all pictures anywhere on these forums are fair game for a few pot shots.  Maybe "Landscape & Nature Photography" should be an admiration-only-or-keep-your-mouth-shut forum where one can post without wearing a bullet proof vest.

But be assured that anybody seeing those pictures handsomely presented on the reception room wall of MegaMongo Corp will be very likely to spend some time in admiration.  When you visit, the pretty receptionist will tell you how much shes likes them and how everybody in the building comes down to see them once in a while, and can you give her some cards please so she can hand them out to the many people who ask who the artist is.  That can really happen.

[Justan]

I just realized that there I went laying down critique on pictures not in the Critique Forum.

OMG! OMG!!, not a critique? Ohhhh, that would be so scary!

Seriously, I don’t recall reading that this is a back slappin’ only forum. Synergy never works without the opportunity for feedback.

What's the difference anyway?  Seems like all pictures anywhere on these forums are fair game for a few pot shots. 

Heh, at least.............

Maybe "Landscape & Nature Photography" should be an admiration-only-or-keep-your-mouth-shut forum where one can post without wearing a bullet proof vest.

Uh…..Nahhhhhh.

…and can you give her some cards please so she can hand them out to the many people who ask who the artist is.  That can really happen.

It does - just yesterday a gallery owner that shows some of my city-scapes asked for business cards. Previously she wasn’t interested.

So …. I need to make some new cards. Maybe I’ll make some that are about 1.75 the length of typical business card as an obnoxious way to emphasize the panoramic work. Wonder if it will make it harder or easier for the prospect to lose the card??

[Tony Jay]

This area seems made for fantastic imagery.
The two panoramas have real potential.

You mention that you may go back and shoot later in the evening.
May I humbly suggest a couple of options:
    That a tighter compostion taking in the stacks as well as settlement along the shore with less background sky and less foreground ocean also excluding the port to the left (it will just be a distracting blob of light) may work well.
   Perhaps attempt a star trail with a wide compostion but again excluding the port using a stacking technique to avoid overly exposing the lights of the settlement.

It would be great to see the results from the return trip.

Kind Regards

Tony Jay

[Justan]

^Thanks for the comments!^

The next trip to the area will be, I think it’s the 5th of next month, which will correspond with the lowest tide of the year. Unfortunately that won’t take place during the golden hours, but it’s enough of a reason for a couple of days at the coast.