Almost as an afterthought, I snapped this shot well after the sunset while vacationing on the beautiful California North Coast last Saturday. Thoughts?

Thanks!
Misha

Misha,

First of all, I went to your Flickr site -- AWESOME climbing pictures (do you have jeff achey's book on climbing photography?)! Makes me want to get my rope out this weekend and find some granite underneath a sunny sky.

I like your pic above. One suggestion, the shoreline on the right, I would include more of it, or leave it out all together.. feels like it (for me) is just "hanging" there.

Paul

I really like the top third of the shot. The rest is nice, but my eye is drawn to the top third without being significantly attracted to the bottom 2/3.

I think you nailed the exposure. I croped it an attached it to this message.

Hey Misha (and others!),

I really like the shot as well. I do think that Tony has a point about the top of the photo catching the eye - though I think it is the top 2/3 of the image. The funny thing is that I would not have noticed it had Tony not mentioned it.

On another note, I love the way the exposure is taken. The great gradations between light and shadow are excellent.

Thanks, Misha!

-JM

I agree with James, however I had a real tough time keeping more of the image as there are some rocks and mud in the shot that would have to be edited as they look out of place in a larger crop.

Again, I think he nailed the exposure. . . I like the shot, and his other work is wounderful!

Thanks for your feedback guys. I also converted this shot into B&W. Do you prefer this or a color shot?

I love the B&W version!!

Hi, Misha,
Such a wonderful view in that seascape! The b&w is really nice but it takes away the golden hues of the sunset. Agree with others that the foreground may be a bit long into the darkness but not really an issue for me.

I read your article on Yosemite and that's the reason I'm here! James posted a link to it on the DPReview D70 forum.
That has to be an exhilirating experience to stand atop Matthes Crest but one which I'll never see except through your images. I've been to Yosemite a few times, most recently last Summer. We hiked a few of the shorter trails but climbing isn't going to happen! )

Best regards,

Dick:)

Hey Misha,

I also like both versions a lot. You have caused a bit of a disagreement here at home. My wife is saying that she prefers the B&W because she finds the bottom of the initial image a bit distracting.

Personally, I feel that Paul Simon had it right. I prefer the color image. I love the gradations between the bright orange and the deep blue-black.

In either case, I think it is a very good piece.

-James

Guys,
Thanks a lot for your feedback! I tried my new Singh-Ray GND 3 f/stop filter with this shot and it did the job just fine.

Dick - glad that you enjoyed the article! I will write more soon.