Inverness Beach Sunrise Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Inverness Beach Sunrise Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Once the sun tucked itself behind the clouds I lost the nice light on the rocks and sand pedestals so I choose this image which had the least star burst and best light on the rocks and sand pedestals. Also had fun fooling around with my Tilt and Shift lens here as well.

BTW - These pedestals of sand are a a testament to the ferocity of the winds on Inverness Beach, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Days before, only sand was visible. After constant blowing of at least 40 MPH winds, these rocks on pedestals appeared. This beach is ever changing and each day offered a new surprise.

Specific Feedback Requested

Is the flare around the sun star too distracting? If so, any input on how to remove it is most welcome. Thanks in advance for looking and for any comments and critiques.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon TS-e 24 mm f/3.5L II
0.7 sec f/16 ISO100

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A beautiful photo that let the fancy fly: jung tortoises escaping towards the sea?
I can’t help for the sun, for me is OK.

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The large version is particularly nice and shows off the stone pedestals and the textures of the sand perfectly, Eva. I quite like the back lighting in this scene. I have only been to Nova Scotia once, but unfortunately did not make it to Inverness Beach. It would have been nice to catch the sun just a touch lower as it creasted the hills, but it is not a deal breaker to me as the sun is bright. Beautiful image!

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The backlit rocks and their shadows are fascinating, Eva. I don’t know how I feel about the sunstar because I never shoot into the sun. I think there are some great intimates to be had in this scene. I don’t suppose you made any?

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Hi Eva, like Igor, I see the opportunity for lots of intimate images of the foreground. To me, that’s what makes this image–the wonderful backlit foreground with wonderful long shadows. Plus the texture in the sand is fantastic. I love it. If it were mine, I might crop 1/3 to 1/2 of the sky out to emphasize the foreground.

Cheers,
David

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Eva - I think Igor is on to something. For me, the foreground is the most beautiful aspect of the image, the rocks, sand, and light. While the clouds help to tell your story of wind, and the sunstar is good in that helps to give perspective on the shadows, the foreground would stand on its own in an image.

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Beautiful light and scene. The flare doesn’t bother me a bit. I would agree with @David_Bostock about cropping maybe 1/3 of the sky, bringing more emphasis to the foreground. I quite like this one.

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This looks more like something from Death Valley, instead of the Maritime provinces of Canada. What a neat location !!

I’m going to go against the grain of the other comments here, and admit that I like including sunstars in grand scenics. Yes, there are some potential intimate shots in this scene, but in my book there is nothing wrong with sunstars. This sunstar does not have the best shape, but that is dependent on the design of the lens. The Canon 16-35mm f4 lens is famous for the excellent shape of its sunstars, that may be a lens to look at for sunstar work. “Fixing” sunstars in post processing can be difficult. with this one I might try adding a little local contrast in the immediate vicinity of the sun, darkening the darker tones may make the rays stand out better. Trying to clone this flare away would be very hard to do.

What I like best about this image are the directional streaks of light and shadow in the left half of the image. That is just such a neat effect. I also see another image lurking here, a crop of just the left half.

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Many thanks to @Ed_Lowe @Harley_Goldman @Igor_Doncov @Ed_Lowe @Jim_McGovern @Giuseppe_Guadagno @David_Bostock for you input. I have tried your suggestions posted below.



A lot of options with this scene. I tried the 1/3 sky crop suggested by David and Harley as well as some intimate crops suggested by Igor. I also like Ed McG’s crop too. I think the sky needs to be part of the scene but maybe not the sun star. Though there are a lot of options with this shot, the crops may not print well. Wish I had my Canon R5 back then. Once COVID-19 is a dstant memory, I’ll have to visit again during Celtic Colours International Music Festival in autumn when the weather creates such amazing transformations of this landscape on a daily basis. My favorite place! More to come. Thanks again for your input.

Hi Eva, the second and third images are awesome. The third one is over the top!

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