Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: Mjollnir on August 21, 2015, 11:13:12 am
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I don't usually shoot the ocean in comps where one is looking directly at the horizon line over the water; I notice in this one that right before the line where the water and sky meet, the otherwise uniform dark slate blue of the water (in this case, Monterey Bay in stormy conditions) suddenly turns a uniform gray. I check all my other shots from this day, and the ones similar in composition have the same effect. No filter was used, and no PP GND was used (LR, NIK, etc...) in processing this.
Anyone have an explanation? Something about the angle of light and the distance, perhaps?
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5771/20086276323_f8048d0845_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/wAXqa2)Kasanin, full sail (1 of 1) (https://flic.kr/p/wAXqa2) by tanngrisnir3 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/87368247@N00/), on Flickr
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Anyone have an explanation? Something about the angle of light and the distance, perhaps?
Hi,
It looks odd indeed. Have you checked with a utility like Fast Raw Viewer (which does a fast and basic Raw conversion without trying to optimize stuff) whether it is caused by the Raw converter (which one?) or if it is actually in the raw data?
Cheers,
Bart
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Hi,
It looks odd indeed. Have you checked with a utility like Fast Raw Viewer (which does a fast and basic Raw conversion without trying to optimize stuff) whether it is caused by the Raw converter (which one?) or if it is actually in the raw data?
Cheers,
Bart
Yup. It's actually in the raw data. I'm thinking this is something caused by the angle of view and the angle/strength of light, but I can't remember enough college physics off the top of my head to explain why.
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The very slight curvature of the earth causes this phenomenon. Especially if there is a different cloud pattern or sky color beyond the edge of what we are able to see. I run into this quite a lot when shooting seascapes. Nature is stranger than fiction,
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The very slight curvature of the earth causes this phenomenon. Especially if there is a different cloud pattern or sky color beyond the edge of what we are able to see. I run into this quite a lot when shooting seascapes. Nature is stranger than fiction,
Thanks, Bob. I'd considered that, too, but the distance just didn't seem great enough. This was taken from the back of a boat, looking N/NE towards Santa Cruz from the middle of Monterey Bay. I also wonder if it could be the dark clouds farther out simply removing the blue cast from the water.
But, if you see it a lot, I'll go with your explanation.
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Ya gotta remember that the horizon is only about three miles away.
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Distance may well not be the critical but the angle of light etc where the incidence of reflection of the clouds on the horizon (or beyond) as Bob suggests. If you moved atop a 500-foot clifftop with a further distance to the horizon you will probably get the same effect on the 'new' horizon whereas the strip of sea forming the horizon in the OP is now blue.
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I'd bet it was the normal change of water color as the water depth changes, reflecting more or less sunlight back to the surface water. If the drop off or sudden decrease in depth was a uniform distance from the lens and, in this case, quite wide from left to right, I would expect what you see here.
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I'm guessing it has nothing to do with curvature, angles, or depth, but is either the result of different lighting on the water or possibly what is under the water - i.e. kelp beds that end at the buoy. I suggest going to a local dive shop and asking, or ask local fishermen.