Appalonia Nature Reserve/Beach Photos [NF56K]

[The Grim Squeaker]

I finally have a few minutes to filter and upload some of my recent photography, so here's the first batch - some photos I took last week at the beach. Lovely weather, lovely beach, and some interesting weirdos to take photos off .
IMG_0121

IMG_0117

IMG_0107

IMG_0105

Surfer 1

Surfer 2

IMG_0046

IMG_0125

IMG_0063

Helicopter

IMG_0042

Dog Walking

Cactus

IMG_0010

rails

Beach panorama


Comments are welcome as always

[Akumz Razor]

Great stuff. I especially love the lightbulb photo. Did that bulb actually manage to survive on the beach?

[The Grim Squeaker]

Great stuff. I especially love the lightbulb photo. Did that bulb actually manage to survive on the beach?

Yup. Found it there lying on the ground. (Also, the floating white board and the dude on it? Happened without my intervention, no staging needed )

[Simplicius]

IMG_0121

Snapshot.

IMG_0117

Snapshot. Too far away from the rocks to use them effectively, while the rest of the frame is a lot of unused space. Rocks that aren't massive geological formations need closeups, because the interest lies in their texture and shape. They don't even necessarily need color.

IMG_0107

This isn't a photo of the tiny guy, because he's way too tiny in the frame, but you are too far away from the cliff to show off the texture well. To do this photo better, you should have used a longer focal length and framed it so the upper-right corner landed on the cliff's edge, as far inward as possible. This would have made the guy larger in the frame, eliminated the wasted space at the top and showed off the texture of the rock face without sacrificing the sense of scale.

IMG_0105

Snapshot.

Surfer 1

Snapshot.

Surfer 2

Snapshot. The photo itself is neither weird nor expressive, so in other words you failed to capitalize on the weirdness offered you by the guy. If you only sought to advertise underpants or Styrofoam or both, you weren't close enough.

IMG_0046

Nice idea; would have been better if it were later or earlier in the day for warmer light and longer shadows. Seriously, you should try to travel and shoot more deliberately. Don't only take your camera places and see what turns up - plan ahead and make the location work for you. Maps, tide charts, and weather forecasts are your friends.

IMG_0125

Snapshot. Not close enough; sun working against you.

IMG_0063

The location has potential, but this version of it isn't doing anything for me.

Helicopter

Snapshot.

IMG_0042

This one is saved by the high vantage point, shifting color and the repetition of horizontal lines. It could have been a photo of empty space, but the angle is right so it's actually a photo of the surface of the sea. It's almost worthy of a dentist's waiting room or something. Horizon's a bit crooked, though.

Dog Walking

Another good, basic idea here. I think you ought to have used a longer focal length, though, and framed it so the dog was more equidistant from the bottom and right frame edges. On the other hand, you balanced the water's edge and the incoming wave well, and framing for the dog could have interfered with that unless you made the shot at a precise moment. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Cactus

Snapshot.

IMG_0010

I think the minimalism is all right here, but the tree is crooked, which isn't. Also, you've got too much brightness in the lower left corner. Again, make the environment work for you.

rails

I think the grass is too dark and too busy to be a good backdrop here. Another potentially good idea, though; might have looked good in black and white if the entirety of the backdrop had been light concrete.

Beach panorama

Wiiiiide snapshot.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Thanks for taking the time to critique!