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Archive 2017 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.

  
 
newjerseysurf
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.


hey all, just got a D7200 and paired it with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED

i hope to use this thread as a place to post some of my recent photos to get feedback for those with much more knowledge and an eye than i do

let's begin - this was from this past weekend. i kept the fence in the frame to make the photo a bit more interesting. i really like when i see surf shots using subjects in the foreground to give the photo some scale or something else to look at but i can understand it may also be distracting.

i also much prefer to take a step back from the action and show a bit of landscape as well.

thanks in advance!









Nov 22, 2017 at 10:42 AM
lighthound
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.


Welcome to FM and the PC forum!
This is a fantastic place to learn and grow as there are several very talented folks here from all types of photographic backgrounds and genres. And they graciously offer much insight and share their knowledge.

If you truly want to learn from your images and grow, this is the place to do it. It can be a little rough sometimes so you need to have thick skin and not take any critique personally or as a slam of your work. We tend to find nits in ANY work presented here because well... this is the Critique board.

So... with that said. I'll try to offer my thoughts on your image.

The fence does hurt the image and is more than just a distraction. I completely get what you're saying about liking FG objects, and that is often a great compositional strategy. However in this image, the fence is not in focus and doesn't offer anything to your image, such as acting as a leading line into the frame or something of interest.

The horizon is just a smidgen tilted to the right and should be corrected with a slight ccw rotation. Minor nit.

Your overall image of the water/wave and surfer looks very nice. You nailed focus and your colors look natural. You did very well on your exposure also. That's some tough lighting conditions yet you nailed it nicely to my eyes.

Again, welcome! Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Dave



Nov 22, 2017 at 11:30 AM
newjerseysurf
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.


lighthound wrote:
Welcome to FM and the PC forum!
This is a fantastic place to learn and grow as there are several very talented folks here from all types of photographic backgrounds and genres. And they graciously offer much insight and share their knowledge.

If you truly want to learn from your images and grow, this is the place to do it. It can be a little rough sometimes so you need to have thick skin and not take any critique personally or as a slam of your work. We tend to find nits in ANY work presented here because well... this is
...Show more

Dave,

this is EXACTLY what i was hoping for - and need - in order to grow and get better.

i cropped out the fence.

admittedly, i do not see the crooked horizon as you do but i did attempt to adjust slightly. does this work better?











Nov 22, 2017 at 12:51 PM
lighthound
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.


Well... It does improve the image but...

You need to ask yourself. What is my message I'm trying to convey with my image.
Is it about the wave? The sky? The surfer?

I suspect it's mainly about the surfer shooting inside the tube/wave.
If I'm on the right track here, then you have to ask yourself, does my image capture the surfer well?
Unfortunately I think we both can see the answer to that. The surfer could be mistaken for a sea lion or seal inside the wave. He/she is not readily identifiable as a surfer. Well except for the surfboard we can kinda sorta see.

So what do you think the solution would be to this problem?

My quick answer would be to get back out there and have some fun shooting these surfers some more, while trying to figure out how best to compose your shot to better convey your message.

I have no experience with photographing surfers so you are already one up on me. But I think I might try to capture more FG water or beach. Or possibly even position myself in the water while shooting back inside of the wave as the surfer emerges from inside the wave. And of course being ready with a high burst in case he/she wipes out.

The main take away here is to get back out there, have fun and try your best to get it as close as possible "in camera" to what your final goal/message should be.

Hope this helps a little. Maybe others might chime in here as well and offer their thoughts.
Who knows, maybe I'm way off base here and missing something.

Dave



Nov 22, 2017 at 02:25 PM
tsaphoto
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.


lighthound wrote:
Well... It does improve the image but...

You need to ask yourself. What is my message I'm trying to convey with my image.
Is it about the wave? The sky? The surfer?

I suspect it's mainly about the surfer shooting inside the tube/wave.
If I'm on the right track here, then you have to ask yourself, does my image capture the surfer well?
Unfortunately I think we both can see the answer to that. The surfer could be mistaken for a sea lion or seal inside the wave. He/she is not readily identifiable as a surfer. Well except for the surfboard we
...Show more

You're way off base and missing things, except with the suggestion that the OP capture more foreground water and beach (and shoot more surfing, of course). The value in this image is the pulled-back scene, which conveys an atmosphere and tons of information about the break and conditions. The railing is necessary. The tube isn't big or perfect enough to stand out on its own as a close crop, nor is this wave big/nasty enough to yield a worthwhile wipeout shot.

Also, the subject is immediately identifiable as a surfer "pigdogging" the barrel - a backside, grab rail tube ride - in perfect trim, and would be stoked that you caught him so deep in a makeable barrel.



Nov 24, 2017 at 02:11 PM
eeneryma
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.


tsaphoto wrote:
You're way off base and missing things, except with the suggestion that the OP capture more foreground water and beach (and shoot more surfing, of course). The value in this image is the pulled-back scene, which conveys an atmosphere and tons of information about the break and conditions. The railing is necessary. The tube isn't big or perfect enough to stand out on its own as a close crop, nor is this wave big/nasty enough to yield a worthwhile wipeout shot.

Also, the subject is immediately identifiable as a surfer "pigdogging" the barrel - a backside, grab rail tube ride
...Show more

I agree with Dave that this scene has potential but given the way it was shot it's problematic from a conceptual standpoint. The bright and out of focus foreground boardwalk attracts my eye first, pulling my attention away from the sea and the surfer which are the essence of the image. Second, the surfer is so small in relationship to the sea and mostly hidden under the wave that it appears to play a very subsidiary role. Like Dave suggested, I would rethink your message and get down on the beach and rephotograph, perhaps getting your telephoto lens closer to make the surfer much larger and more important in the scene. Working with what we have though, this is one possibility for your consideration.

Steve







Nov 24, 2017 at 11:48 PM
tsaphoto
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.


eeneryma wrote:
I agree with Dave that this scene has potential but given the way it was shot it's problematic from a conceptual standpoint. The bright and out of focus foreground boardwalk attracts my eye first, pulling my attention away from the sea and the surfer which are the essence of the image. Second, the surfer is so small in relationship to the sea and mostly hidden under the wave that it appears to play a very subsidiary role. Like Dave suggested, I would rethink your message and get down on the beach and rephotograph, perhaps getting your telephoto lens closer to
...Show more

The surfer does play a subsidiary role. He is not the essence of the image, nor is the sea without the context of the foreground. The essence of the image is the approachability of the wave - that it offers a quick, user-friendly wedge/tube twenty feet off the beach, to the point where it's almost background noise to a coastal dweller sitting on his deck in the morning.

If you cut the deck, you kill that link. That wave could be a ten-second paddle and single duckdive out, or it could be an offshore river bar requiring a shitty, sharky paddle through ripping currents. No context, no story.

Surfers do not look at an image like that and care about the surfer. That's a run of the mill backside barrel on a small wave: not interesting if it isn't you. What a surfer sees in the original image is his or her own participation at the break: how easy it is to walk down from the deck and thread some fun, relatively inconsequential tubes. No hell paddle, no lineup difficulties, no nasty cleanup sets, nothing big enough to frighten: just pure joy.



Nov 26, 2017 at 01:24 AM
eeneryma
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Working on improving my surf photography. Critiques welcome.




tsaphoto wrote:
The surfer does play a subsidiary role. He is not the essence of the image, nor is the sea without the context of the foreground. The essence of the image is the approachability of the wave - that it offers a quick, user-friendly wedge/tube twenty feet off the beach, to the point where it's almost background noise to a coastal dweller sitting on his deck in the morning.

If you cut the deck, you kill that link. That wave could be a ten-second paddle and single duckdive out, or it could be an offshore river bar requiring a shitty, sharky
...Show more

You are looking at and appreciating the image through very specialized eyes, that of an educated surfer. That takes you in certain directions far from the average viewer. If that is the photographer’s goal, communicating with like minded surfers, then perhaps they will see the same intent and interpret the image with the same eyes. For a wider audience, one might give thought to other ways in which to express what you are seeing.
Steve



Nov 26, 2017 at 07:33 AM





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