fotofoow
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Yes, HDR blending strikes again, particularly on the second image. Sensors nowadays are ususally good enough to bring shadows up nearly 3 stops so I almost never do exposure blending any more - as long as the shadows are not clipped I can almost always recover them on Nikon cameras.
Agree that the second image is a good deal more compelling. There is no "junk" (seaweeds) to distract in the FG, the reflection and the texture in the rock give the viewer something to look at in the FG as they explore. In addition to the halo comment above, things I would do slightly differently if this was my image would be a) turn down the reds, alas the red channel looks blown out so you may not be able to do this; b) dodge the rocks or at least bring up the shadows, there are a couple of areas between the boulders that look completely black. The sun is in a position where the light appears to have been beautifully kissing the rocks on the wavebreak, even if the light was slightly off-angle it can be believably be made to light up the rocks much more prominently, which will tie the left and right side of the image together.
P.S. I am a sucker for Panther Beach. The company I work for gives us the week of Jul-4 off, so pretty much every year I drive along the coast from San Diego to Santa Cruz and shoot San Luis Obispo at sunrise from the Cuesta Ridge and Panther Beach at sunset from the bluffs at the south end, right next to Panther Rock....Show more →
Thanks so much for your thoughtful suggestions. Both photos are from a single exposure although I did lighten the lighthouse with the adjustment brush. I'm suspecting that is what is causing the halos. I tried reworking both photos and while I was able to reduce the halos, I haven't been able to completely get rid of them. I like your idea of dodging the breakwater and will work on that as well. I do like the colors in the first photo, but I agree that the composition could be improved. Even though it was a cold morning, I wish that I wadded further out so the foam in the foreground leads the eye into the frame better.
When you are in the Santa Cruz area, please PM me if you'd like to shoot together (social distancing of course). Unfortunately, the forecast for this week is wind and blue skies.
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