Some Seals on Some Rocks in the Water

[3pco]

Wow, this place has gone all macro. I suppose covid has everyone navel-gazing. I wanted to get a macro shot of this guy, but the water was cold and deep, and I couldn’t get close enough. So I had to settle for this. Besides, I never did figure out how to put a lens on backwards.

Actually a composite at 195mm. Should have zoomed in more, as I ended up cropping, but my initial thought was for a wider composition. The rocks and animals are f11, 1/250, iso 100, the water at 4 sec. I’ve been doing a lot of these lately, trying to smooth the water and juxtapose action shots of surfers, birds, whatever.

How can I improve this shot, others in general? Thanks!

[Robert Apple]

In general, I just wish the perspective was a little lower so the mist was behind the seals, but also knowing the country a bit , slippery slimy jagged rocks, that may have not been possible.

[JasenkaG]

Good point, I also think that having the mist behind the seals would be perfect.

[Beaky]

Nice shot mate, agree with Rob the mist behind the seals would set it off.

 

[3pco]

Thanks for the comments. Yeah, Robert, couldn’t get lower, was standing on top of bluff shooting across an expanse of water to get this.

[Robert Apple]

I was recalling a trip to Brookings Oregon and an attempt to scale the rocks to get that perfect perspective on a ocean shot,and the resulting loss of a Camera, 4 hours at urgent care and 19 stitches.

[Rob Eyers]

Robert’s idea would have been good when the shot was taken. As is maybe some could be removed for the bottom and possibly the top portion scaled up too. Hard to explain so here’s a rough edit. Maybe???

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Love the shot! I think the rock on the lower left can be removed. I like Rob’s edit above 🙂

[3pco]

Rob’s edit makes the seal more of a “hero” for the photo. I like it too.

Thanks everyone!

[beth]

you’re right about the macro, there’s a lot of it to sort through now.  great shot of the seals, though i like the crop suggested by rob.

[bucweeet]

A little trick in sports photography… to make it look closer to the ‘playing level’ or to make it look like the photographer is on the same level as the players…  remove the lower portion of the image by adding more to the top.

In this case, shoot the image so that the seals were on, or in, the lower third of the frame.  This would have raised the camera’s perspective and possibly added the additional room for the mist.  “Back Button” focus would help in that once focused on the seals, one can reposition their camera to get the composition they like.

As it is, in this image, lower portion (as per Rob’s crop) is not required in the image.

 

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

It’s been raining here for 5 weeks. Macro and still life are all I have at the moment. 😉

[Erik Fransman]

Love the shot, just a bit too many distractions.
I like the wider shot, but when I cloned the seals on the left out, it was unbalanced. So a bit closer and moved the clouds a tad.

[Frank]

Want a picture of  seal?  Make it about the seal!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

This crop looks interesting Frank 🙂

[Anne Hornsby]

@3pco      great discussion!    I was really taken by the mist, so took Rob’s edit, cropped in a bit more from the left, and converted to B&W, tweaked clarity a bit.   For me, B&W highlights the mystery of the mist and the white on the main seal’s face.  See what you think.

 

[Dahlia Ambrose]

This edit looks great Anne 🙂

[Anne Hornsby]

sorry duplicate submission

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