Georgian bay

I decided to explore a new section of the Bruce trail and a side trail down to a rock beach on the shore of Georgian bay. I was familiar with the general area and the type of geography but had never been to this location before. I arrived a few minutes before sunrise and quickly found this rock. I had the beach to my self and the water was calm. The area is know for the northern end of the the Niagara escarpment and the clear cold waters of Georgian bay. The sky was mostly overcast with a few small breaks but no significant light or color that morning. I will definitely return to this location again.

Specific Feedback Requested

Any feedback is welcome. I have some images with the sky but it was generally not interesting. I worked this rock for about 30 minutes and have various different compositions. I’m liking this one at the moment but that may change as I gain a bit of time from these photos. In hind sight I probably should have tried an extra long exposure with ND filter.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
f16, 8 seconds, iso 50, 16mm on full frame with CPL. Minimal processing in LR. I added a grad filter in LR to increase the texture slider for the rock. I had to use content aware in PS to remove one of the tripod legs just poking into the bottom of the frame.

@bryannelsonca
3 Likes

Bryan, the mix of pock marked rock (with pools) and the rocks in the water is very interesting and looks good. The similarity in tone between the rock and the water works well. You have a nice semi-abstract here. My one thought is that I’d like to see more contrast in the brighter area near the top. I think a clearer view of the underwater stones all the way to the top would be a nice improvement. I do like the hint of sun reflection in the middle at the top.

I enjoy the contrasting sharpness in the rock with the softness of the water. The shapes in the rock work well with the shapes under water.

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I really like the textures in the rock, Bryan. And it does make a nice contrast to the water. I feel like my eye gets pulled to the upper center where the sunlight is reflecting. I wonder how it would look with that area darkened to match the rest of the water…or even a crop of about half the water area, making the rock even more of the focus…just a thought.

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Bryan I like the composition you used here, it creates some interesting contrasts in textures, shapes and colors. I also like how you have the sun outside the frame, creating the glow at the top (having an implied sun if you will).

I think the most interesting aspects of this image are the shapes and textures, and I think a darker treatment with some more contrast would emphasize these elements even further. Darkening the rock would not only enhance texture, I also think it would emphasize the glow at the top better too.
I hope you don’t mind, but here is a rework showing the direction I would take if this were mine.

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I like this for the abstract quality, and you composed it well to create a nice tension between two “halves.”

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Thanks for all the comments. Currently traveling on business and can’t respond quickly. It gives me some ideas to explore when I get back home. I took various compositions of this scene and I still need to explore the processing of the images. Hopefully more to come in a while.