Here is a photo from Sable Island. This photo has an impact with me for several reasons. The sky has a lot of mood; hints of yellows, blues, reds and greys that create a stormy feel. The lone bird flying across the sky creates a sense of loneliness and also seems to add to this stormy feel. The dune also has a lot of character particularly because of the different form to the right. Lastly the rays of sun set the time, sunset and emphasise the cloud cover.
Shot on 19 Dec 2006 at 1645; Sable Island, NS, Canada
1/100 sec at f5.6; exposure +1; ISO 200; focal length 85mm; ISO 200
Comments welcome
Damian
2 comments:
Damian
AT LAST! I was beginning to wonder if you were actually on Sable this year...
Anyway, to the image.
This image for me has lots of potential, for all the reasons you mention in the post; the light, the sky, the bird and the dunes. However, it's a bit flat. I think you could have further tweaked the levels, curves etc to get a broader range of tones. I understand that it's peaceful, but it could still be so with a more fullsome tonal range. Just a thought. Also, the bird is very small, which does make it look lonely etc, but may be just a tad too small to be a proper focal point - it could also look like a mark on the sensor. It's also a bit central, which makes it look more static and makes it lose some impact, in addition to the size. The sky is lovely, especially where the light breaks through, but above that it's pretty samey, so maybe consider a crop (although this would put the bird perhaps too near the top). I'd use photoshop and enlarge + move the bird anyway (I'm not proud).
So, in summary
1. Further tweak the levels and curves
2. Consider a crop off the top
3. Resize and move the bird (to the left to balance the shafts of light)
But then, all of the above is not very Miksang, is it?
Good post
Ivan
Hi there,
Thanks for the comments. Last night after work I devoted my time to going through the Sable photos so that I could start posting.
So, replies to your comments
1. Further tweak the levels and curves
I have to admit I did not spend a lot of time on this shot, and it probably needed more attention. The levels were short of both the extreme light and dark tones so it does need more careful adjustments. I can also spend more time on the curve adjustments. So yes I agree, it is a tad flat.
2. Consider a crop off the top
I did do some cropping, from the top. I didn't want to take too much off because I wanted to leave some of that dark cloud sitting above the small breaks in the cloud for contrast. I also cropped some from the left.
3. Resize and move the bird (to the left to balance the shafts of light)
The bird is small but that adds a sense of scale. I think it is big enough not to be confused with dirt on the sensor though. And the black and white tells one it is clearly a gull.
I am not into changing the image to the extent of cutting and pasting parts of the image. There is a fine line here which we have spoke of before (for example, if you crop an image then why not cut and paste parts of it?). But to me it is going too far, but again it is ones artistic expression that controls that.
Having said all of that, there were seals in the photo. They were small blobs on top of the dune (three of them); too small to know what they were. So I removed those.
I have more to post so I hope (all though I have said this before) to post more regularly.
Damian
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