Two pics for C&C

Pelican
and Ocean's Edge

rustinm,

Since you asked. I have spent many hours at La Jolla cliffs and know the allure of the pelicans
soaring by. This first image is a good full width shot of this wonderful bird in flight. I also
like that you shot with a low f stop and got good bokeh in the background. The problem for me with
the image you posted on your site is the softness of the bird. If you're getting good bokeh blur
in the background, then the main subject has to be sharp. Now I'm not sure where the softness is
coming from. It may be the result of processing for the web display. I think the sharpness is there
because when I downloaded it and sharpened it I got the image below. I think the detail in the
beak and texture of the feathers is there with proper post processing. I think it might have stood
even a little more sharpening but I was being conservative. I would certainly sharpen it more for
a print.

(Please excuse my manipulations of your images. I mean no disrepect and do so only to display the points I am trying to make.)


I guess I have the same comment for the landscape. The idea you had is great and I like the composition.
I still have problems with the sharpness. The beach sand and sandstone cliffs have great texture that
is lost in the posted image. Again a little sharpening of the image seems in order. I also had a little
nit with the reddish thing in the reflected pool. It seemed distracting to me and the red color seemed
unnatural to the scene. So I went with this

Thanks for the input. The modifications do cause the details of the picture to pop. The red thing was someone who walked into the photo at the wrong time giving me a reflection

Hey,

I generally like the photos, particularly the scenic. My problem is that I have a hard time seeing them on my screen because they are so large. It really makes it difficult for me to be able to give then a real critique.

James

The pelican shot just needs proper PP to bring out it's details. (my re-edit is a little hars working with the smaller shot.)



The landscape has a composition that I would give a C+ I would venture to say that given the charactor of the rocks a little more flattering composition could have been found.

Exposure is WAY beyond the Dynamic Range of the camera and a prime candidate for a Digital blend. Or....shot the scene in less harsh light. The foreground with the smattering of beach fodder kinda distracts the eye.

One of the things I do when I see somthing that catches my eye...is I start looking to isolate exactly what it was that caught it. You cannot take a sucessful landscape shot till you have that figured out. Then you have to figured out how you want to present it. If your photo is to have order and depth...you need a solid anchor for the foreground....an eye leading middle ground that is dynamic and leads your eye through the photo in a pleasing geometric way....and the background.

A smoother Dynamic range transistion would lead the eye more pleasingly from front to back.

This site has pleanty of potential....if you live in the area...I would revisit in the early morning or later evening when the light is softer....and try to really read the scene and see what captured your attention so you can tell your story.

Roman

Roman thanks for the input. The only problem is that I live on the East Coast and not sure when I'll get back to La Jolla. Was there on business and we had some time before lunch one day.

Hopefully I can get back out to that area in the future.

Hey Roman,

That was very nicely done with the pp. It looks great.

James