Two shots from last night... please take a look.

[owen]

Hey guys.

Can you check these photos out and let me know how I might improve them?

I like the colours in the first one and in the second I like the effect of the water. I had the flash on rear curtain sync and closed the shutter just as the water was coming in which made it flash.

Cheers,
Owen.

[Sheetshooter]

At the outset Owen let me say that I would be quite happy to have shot these - they are not only a good capture of the moment but they also establish an air of mystique.

The first shot is strangely Druidic to me (resonates with my wild Celtic past in Albion). It is a forewarning of arcane rituals about to happen. Had I been there (and had it been physically possible) I might have moved the camera a foot or so to the left in order to align the rising moon with the more interesting red speckled rock as the foreground motif. Perhaps I would then have centred them horizontally in the vertical frame. Only other slight bother for me (from the point of view of a statement or design rather than a record) is that the water movement on the left breaks an otherwise smooth area of tone - perhaps I'd have waited a moment or two.

Now, for me the second shot is a cracker. I am a devottee of low-key and this is as good as it gets. The world and all its features hidden beneath the veil of darkness with just the hint of detail from our old nocturnal partner the moon. The flash fill is spot on for me and enhances the moon's illumination credibly without excessive intrusion. The only snag is the flare spot from the moon. What can you do about that? Well, for starters you could 'fix it in PhotoShop' but for a purist like me that is cheating. What might be a better solution is to use a GRADUATED FILTER to knock the exposure of the moon back by as much as 3 stops while its glow is recorded on the shore at full intensity. Cokin make a perfectly adequate series of GRADUATED FILTERS both in neutral density (grey) or in colours. The filter would of course be positioned at a point where it affected the moon but not the horizon. That way you might:

lessen the risk of flare in the night sky caused by the moon

add detail to the surface of the moon (remember Gary's stunner yesterday)

impart a golden glow or a ruddy harvest moon look

Well done Owen and I can't wait for next month to see what you come up with.

Cheers,

[owen]

Wow Sheetshooter, a great critique - thankyou.

The first shot was a bit tight as there was some kind of signage on the left, and on the right was another sign, so I had to squeeze in between the two.

I might give your suggestions a go, (fixing in photoshop) I'll see how they turn out.

Thanks again for a great response.

Cheers,
Owen.

[wendellt]

Hi Owen

The 2nd shot works for me because i am biased towards any shot that is generally dark. I believe dark photos are more interesting and engaging because there is more to be said in the darkness of a picture than there is in a bright picture. I feel you can contemplate over a darker image, which draws you into a surreal netherworld and allows you to appreciate the finer subtlety of the subject, tone and texture of the image, whereas a brighter image to me is quite predictable.

I cannot work out if the 2nd image is shot with a ND filter during the day or you shot the sun with a hight fstop and shutterspeed. Alternatively you could have just shot the moon at night, the technique used continues to challenge my evaluation of the image, please enlighten me.

[sirhc55]

Looked at your shots Owen and was about to respond but read Sheetshooters critique, and all I can say is DITTO

[MHD]

I like both, but the first one better... Like was said it is strangely druidic...

Very nice!

Have you tried PPing out the lens flare in shot two? I find it a little distracting

[owen]

Hi Wendell. It was shot at 6 o clock last night so it was pretty dark. The moon was almost full and casting nice reflections on the water. I think I used f22 for this and a long shutter speed using the remote.

[owen]

Thanks guys. I haven't tried to get rid of the lens flare, I thought it added a bit to the image, however on your advice I'll have a go tonight and see how it turns out.

Cheers,
Owen.

[owen]

Hi guys. finally got around to removing the lens flare, also got rid of some banding in the large version.

Let me know if you think it's any better

Cheers,
owen.

[stubbsy]

Owne

Revision works better. The lens flare bugged me too.

[KerryPierce]

Both are good shots, Owen, but the 2nd one is tops for me.

[Atorie]

Excellent shots Owen.. I love the use of the rear curtain sync int eh last shot and the PS fixup worked a treat! [/list]

[Raydar]

I like,, great job
The image really sets the mood for the night.

Cheers
Ray:)

[Catcha]

Second shot is great love the moonlight reflection on the ocean....very well done

[owen]

Thanks for all the encouraging comments guys!

[waspo]

Hi owen,
Mate, these are fantastic shots! I have to confess though I really couldn't see much of the second shot when I first viewed them a day ago.
I was wondering why people were complaining about the lens flare until I viewed them on a friends monitor and discovered my monitor was suffering in brightness.
Thanks to you pic's I have adjusted my monitor via the graphics card and can finally see how brilliant they are.
On the down side, I'm going to have to reprocess all my images, as they are too bright and not the way I like them to be.
Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see what you post up next.
Cheers, Jase.