Morecambe Bay Firestorm

[ned.ward]

2 shots with different wb settings.

Any comment/critique/thoughts most welcome. The "....ever thought of taking up golf.."  recently suggested elsewhere will not be considered. 

Ned.

 

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Prefer the composition of the first and colors of the second.

Do not know of your golf skills, but your photography skills are quite good.

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

I like both.

Having to decide for me its #1, color and composition wise.
You might want to play with cropping away a bit of the sky and put emphasis
on the reflections, which I personally find very pleasing, but that a highly subjective question, of course.

The clipping in the second bothers me a bit, though the extreme colors have something.

[RSL]

Very nice, Ned. Like Chris, I'll go for #1. It's the house on stilts that makes the picture.

[David Eckels]

These sorts of scenes are what I live for in photography! I agree with comments re number 1 and would go for a rendering reminiscent of what I was feeling at the time I took the shot. Very different moods in both and I like the colors in each, different messages though. Agree with the clipping comment in viz number 2.

[ned.ward]

Slobodan,
Thank you for commenting, I tried golf for around 3 years as a young man. I gave it up because despite incremental improvement the way I played spoiled a good walk! Here's hoping my photography doesn't promote the same result!

At each event I take lots of shots, if possible, and try different settings, composition adjustments et al. You probably do the same. For me to allows a little wriggle room for my perception. I never really know what I have till later. Probably a mark of my level?

Ned

[ned.ward]

Christopher,
Please be as subjective as you like. I believe that when we create something visual and then invite others to look, we have given up ownership (despite copyright law) and the individual viewer brings experience, likes, dislikes, prejudice, love etc. with them. The only time subjectivity scares me is when it forms collectively as say a "posse" or religion. 

This scene had lots to convey. The different settings and compositions try to emphasise these in varying degrees. Your preferences are perfectly valid and I thank you for sharing them. It helps me.

Ned

[ned.ward]

Russ, I'm obliged and your thoughts illustrate my scribblings to Christopher. The building is a dinghy sailing centre watchtower thingy.

Cheers
Ned

[ned.ward]

Thanks David, and what a great reply. Seldom in my limited experience of forums do people relate to emotions in their comments. Its probably a man thing and we tend to get technical?

I don't have the vocabulary or photographic skill to convey exactly what I felt at this scene. I too have a profound attachment. The physics promotes something primeval methinks. It's always a humbling privilege to witness such an event. In my life's experience this sunset was exceptional. The red enhanced version was closer to the excitement that built as the light developed. The auto WB or blue version was to see the effect of adding blue filter to reduce the red. Sort of defeating the concept of golden hour.

The clipping is a really bad habit. I seldom print and when I did early in my photography the shadow areas in many shots were blocked to the extent they emitted Hawking Radiation! I need to stop over compensating the shadow areas and in some cases flattening the highlights.

I am the founder member of the flat light movement, akin to the historic flat earth culture. Oh yes spheres are the devils work!

Seriously though I need to refrain from destroying contrast?

Thanks for your help.

Ned

[stamper]

I am a big fan of sunset images and go out of my way to shoot them. Foreground interest imo is very important in a sunset image. I don't think the foreground interest in yours is quite good enough to make it a very good image. The marbled effect in the sky is good but when the eye then moves to the foreground the image is lacking. Personally I find I have a few locations in my mind for foregrounds that work and I struggle to find more. However what works and doesn't work for me works for others.

[David Eckels]

I don't have the vocabulary or photographic skill to convey exactly what I felt at this scene...The red enhanced version was closer to the excitement that built as the light developed.

The picture IS your vocabulary. Just a thought. You obviously felt something and, as Russ might say, there may not be only one right way to do it. Stick around, these folks have much to teach here. They're a bit curmudgeonly at times, but basically good people BTW, have you tried to recover the highlights in ACR/LR?

[ned.ward]

Thanks Stamper, yes foregrounds can be important. The shoot started out about 20 yards away shooting boats etc. see attached. Wasn't sure if a sunset would arrive as there was a lot of cloud around. Then bam, so we moved (my wife) up the shore to catch the firestorm hitting the bottom of the cloud formation, not possible from our original location. Sometimes you have to try for a location that has lots of potential.

We also had a picnic, straight from work, 40 miles up the motorway, sitting on some sea defences. A fantastic night.

I'm obliged for you taking time to view and comment, it all helps.

Cheers
Ned

[stamper]

If the fiery sky had been behind the above image then it would have imo been good foreground interest, not too much and not too little. There is a lot of luck in chasing sunset images. Last Sunday I travelled about 7 miles past one possible scene to reach another. I looked back at the one I passed and cursed my decision to pass it by for an inferior one. 

[ned.ward]

Stamper,

"...its all luck ...." or something like was the famous quote methinks.

Cheers
Ned

[ned.ward]

Sorry David I missed this, not tried to recover the highlights, and I will stick around, I'll try to give as well as take but don't hold me to it!
Ned