EDIT Notes: Thanks @Ed_McGuirk, @Kerry_Gordon, @Dick_Knudson - all of you have valid points
I agree that the image is darker. I adjusted the White point - trying to keep detail in the highlights - will adjust contrast for print though as and when
Decentralized the central seasick - now the surf leads nicely into the iconic Nik seastacks
Original LLC has water - I was trying to avoid compositing - but used another image from the same shoot when the water had receded.
And lightened the water - originally darkened to draw less attention
What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
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Hey Karl. I really love this photograph and your choice for monochrome. The leading line (curve) of the surf is gorgeous and takes my eye on the grand tour of the image. I am twice rewarded: at the outset by the dramatic rock with all its texture jutting up in the foreground and, at the end, by that miniature island at the tip of the peninsula. A very satisfying journey. That being said, I think this image suffers in ways that I’ve struggled with when doing black and white images in particular - it feels under exposed. I don’t mean in the camera but in post. You are far from your white point and so I find the image to be “muddy”. There are, after all, true whites in this image. I have found the best way to work with this in post is by trusting my histogram. I mean my eye gets used to seeing what it is used to seeing. I recently put together a book of black and white photographs of musicians. I thought I had it just right and sent it out to be published. When I got the proof copy back, I was shocked at how dark it looked. I eventually boosted my exposure by ¾ of a stop. And it was hard - my eye kept wanting to leave it where it was. But I trusted my histogram and it came out just as I’d originally hoped. In this case you might not want to boost your overall exposure. Maybe just pull up your white slider. There are a lot ways to do it, with luminosity masks, brushes, whatever but I think this wonderful image would be greatly enhanced by bringing up the whites (possibly the blacks too - I personally find the beach over dark - but that’s more a matter of taste).
I also appreciate the dramatic curve accentuating the pinnacles near and far. The single distraction to my eye is the central position of the near pinnacle. That seems to be a static anchor, reducing the dynamism of the beautiful curve. By cropping from the top right tends to let the image have more motion in a more panoramic frame.
Karl, here’s another vote for the image being too dark, particularly in the water and the near center sea stack. The black point used on the beach is a little deep for my taste as well, although that is more of personal creative choice. I also think @Dick_Knudson has a good idea to take the main sestack off-center a bit. Dicks crop also has the advantage of having the 3 distant seastacks play a more prominent role in the image.
