Sailboat

[PrevailingConditions]

Hey Guys,

I'm hoping for some help here. I like this shot, but it's not quite right somehow and I can't put my finger on what. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

PC

[Greg McCary]

I like it too. The composition is fine too. I think mostly the sky hurts this one.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

Too white !! Re shoot :cryin:

[GB1]

It's a bit plain to me, though the contrast is good. The sailboat is ok but it needs something besides the plain sky and ocean - some clouds, the sun poking through, an island in the background, etc. The scene is so white, it almost look surreal/manipulated. I think I'd zoom in a little to remove some of the negative space.

GB

[Overbeyond]

I would crop a little off the bottom. The lack of sky does not hurt this image too much in my opinion because that contrasting great high sail piercing into the whiteness is great.
Very nice photograph.

[PrevailingConditions]

Thanks for all the feedback. Unfortunately, a re-shoot isn't really an option. I took this from another boat crossing the bay. I think I've got another angle that has a little land in the background, but I didn't think it added that much. Maybe I'll try to graft in some sky from another shot.

[Gripped]

I know that such shots are serendipitous -- getting that perfect one is a crapshoot of opportunity and conditions.

It's a fine picture of a sailboat. Given the calm water, I'd have liked if the perspective were lower -- closer to the water -- so there is more sky behind the boat. I think that would have given more a sense of the distant horizon. Given that you were shooting from the rear, I's have preferred a full on rear shot -- little or none of the side of the boat showing. Of course the lighting could have been more subdued to bring out the texture and cut the contrast. And I'd have liked the framing a little tighter.

But like I said, getting everything to align is tough.

[PrevailingConditions]

OK, I grafted in some sky from another picture, more for the fun of it than anything else. What do you think?

Gripped, I agree that a lower perspective would be nicer, but I would have had to jump in to accomplish that



And in B&W

[readingr]

Okay,

The grafted sky is the wrong colour for the reflection in the sea and the boat, you need to watch for that, so for that reason its the B&W for me. You also have a dust spot, (I think its a bird really, but looks like a dust spot and needs cloning out).

I would dodge the people in the boat a bit to make them a little more obvious.

What sort of boat were you on? a ferry? it looks very high angle for the shot.

Where was this taken?

Roger

[PrevailingConditions]

Roger,

I agree with you on the color version. I was more focused on the B&W, but decided to post the color as well. And yes, it's a bird, not dust. The sky came from a shot I took in Israel a couple years ago. At this point I feel like I'm chasing a lost cause so I'm not going to do too much more.

This was taken from a Ferry going from Oakland to San Francisco. I was up on the top deck when I saw the sailboat.

[GB1]

I much prefer the color version -- gives it a little more impact.
GB

[gahspidy]

The original picture posted works best for me. i like the blank sky with the sail going stright through it. the contrast is hard and the picture very stark, in a good way. It offers me stronger mood than the others somehow. i might even add some grain/noise to the image