Black Ocean

[Francesco Carucci]

From the Big Island of Hawaii, the lava field looks like a huge black frozen ocean from an alien planet.



The blog post tries to put in words my feelings when I rushed to the scene to take the image, plus some technical details on the capture itself.

Thanks for your feedback!

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I like how you kept everything relatively dark. Not so sure about what appears to be a halo along the horizon.

[fike]

Excellent stuff here, but as Slobodan says, that horizon looks funky.  Whether this is a sharpening artifact or a natural phenomenon, you may want to try to dodge it a bit or adjust your mask or simply darken that edge with a masked adjustment layer.

That tuft of grass makes the scene, by the way.

[Francesco Carucci]

Thanks! Yes, it's haze on the horizon, I was considering darkening it out, but it's now decided: it will go.

[AFairley]

Very evocative, I like the dark tones, and the tuft of grass is a good idea. Nicely balanced composition

[churly]

Very nice and something new, at least for me.  I might be inlined to open up the far left just a wee bit.  IMO it would enhace the balance.

Chuck

[sdwilsonsct]

Thanks! Yes, it's haze on the horizon, I was considering darkening it out, but it's now decided: it will go.

If it's real I would keep it. Nice image!

[fike]

If it's real I would keep it. Nice image!

By "real" do you mean what the camera captured or what the photographer saw?  Cameras (lenses and sensors) often capture stuff that the naked eye doesn't. 

[Chris Calohan]

Since there weren't haloes in the rest of the image, I felt the horizon had to be something else so I just ooohed and awwwwed as I think it is a wonderful perspective.

[Francesco Carucci]

By "real" do you mean what the camera captured or what the photographer saw?  Cameras (lenses and sensors) often capture stuff that the naked eye doesn't.  

This is an excellent point. I didn't see it (or notice it) when I was there. By "real", I meant that it hasn't been introduced by processing the image, but since it doesn't add much to the image and you guys pointed it out, I'm inclined to correct it.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

There are two possibilities: one, it is a masking artifact; two, it is a tiny stretch of ocean, due to your low viewpoint. Had you lowered your camera just a bit more, it would have disappeared and we would see just an intersection of lava and sky. Had you raised your camera just a bit, we would have seen more of the ocean. Me thinks.

[wolfnowl]

All been said - well done!

Mike.