San Luis Pier Sunset Photo

Photographer’s Note

After a long day of driving, we stopped for a late lunch/early supper and then a nap in our handy pop-top camper. I awoke just as the light was getting nice and ran around getting photos of this working harbor like crazy.

"Look, a rainbow," the man said as pointed across the bay to a rather insignificant rainbow across the bay above the still bright hillside; but here in Southern California we don't get a lot of rain so we're easily impressed.

In the BG, you can see the hoist for hauling out boats and some motorhomes parked right on the waterfront. There are about six of the prime camping sites. There are more on the other side of the road and further down, but these are the best. This harbor seems more people-friendly than many that have been built to sell condominiums like Marina del Rey and Dana Point. Plus, anchored boats are a lot more picturesque than those ugly rows of boats tied to docks.

robertosalguero, edytungkal, feather, Floydian, Gerrit, jwmunro, xuaxo, bakes888 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

robertosalguero (2759) 2007-09-09 22:25

Funny because the woman seem to look the other way. The sky in the background look great Pat and is enhanced by the dark mountains. Nice image but no rainbow in the shot. I guess the couple was more interesting eh? Thanks Pat :-)

Roberto

dhurjati (2827) 2007-09-09 22:39

Hi Pat,
The background looks really well here Pat, but can't see the Rainbow though!!Guess, the couple is njoying the view very much.The left part is bit too dark for my likings though.
Greetings from India,
Dhurjati

edytungkal (4513) 2007-09-10 1:05

Hello Pat,
Despite without a rainbow, i enjoyed you picture, the back ground really nice with orange tones against the dark side. Maybe the couple on FG shown that enthusias, well job Pat, thanks :-)

daniel

John_F_Kennedy (30629) 2007-09-10 3:27

Excellent photo and perfect timing to get up early and use the best moment of the day to make this photo.
Best wishes,
Achim

feather (49848) 2007-09-10 4:14

You got lovely colours in the sky and it would be interesting to see a rainbow against such a backdrop. You got some lovely glittery colours in the water from the reflected light. The couple watching the rainbow are good for fg interest.
I keep meaning to tell you I like your new intro pic. ;D
Kath

Floydian (30970) 2007-09-10 6:31

Hello Patricia,
A very difficult picture which needs all your pp skills to make it perfect, not an easy thing to do. The background is very dark, alsmot no information there. Open the shadows there would lead to a lot of noise, so you stocked up in a kind of world concerning sky and people in front and those darker parts.
I do not see a rainbow, but can be my age ;-)
Nevertheless i like the warm light over the water and the couple in front create a nice focal point, i like that.
Regards, Henk

pboehringer (770) 2007-09-10 8:41

Pat,
I have to agree with Henk that this shot has a lot of potential but needs heavy PP to really show what you were shooting here. The foreground with the couple is very interesting, almost a decisive moment and I'm with the lady to turn my head and see that rare moment of a rainbow in California! I didn't know that such happens here!!! The background is a real winner with those typical californian golden sunsets. However the middle ground is just to dark to give any insight and that is a pity. This compromises the shot to much. Maybe some HDR would render a better image. Don't ask me how to do that. I don't know it either, but it would be nice if someone could work that until our next TE meeting and show some techniques on that.
Regards, Peter

Gerrit (35463) 2007-09-10 14:46

Hi Pat,
Original crop and great sharpness and colours.
regards, gerrit

jwmunro (6709) 2007-09-11 6:55

Hello Pat -

You have a toughie here with the very bright sky and the dark mountains. At first I felt the image was just not going to work but I did do a WS to open the shadows a bit. Yes it added some noise but but importantly it gave more FG detail and more detail along the ridge lines in the form of enhancement. I hope you like the results. Otherwise, this is a nice try but as mentioned by other maybe an HDR or just two images (shadows and highlights) and a merge in PS.

Thank you for sharing.

John

[workshop] [compare]

xuaxo (5635) 2007-09-13 12:42

Hi Pat,
This picture is very nice golden colored. It would be also fine without those people in the frame.
The ws is also pretty nice, with or without rainbow.
SAA. F.

Angshu (33267) 2007-09-15 21:51

Hi Pat
Very nice colour of the sky & the reflection of it in the water, creating the golden glitter. It appears you've coaxed out details in the FG with shadow/highlights. I might have wanted some details visible in the mountain slopes, but I guess that was difficult. A nice shot nonetheless
Best Regards
Angshu

meltemi (9746) 2007-09-17 2:29

Hello Pat,
Beautiful scenery. The colours are nice and the silhouettes are sharp and interesting subjects.
I appreciated very much you visited my gallery.
Kind Regards.
Stella

gunbud (27533) 2007-09-20 8:37

Hi Pat,
Wonderful late day capture of this dramatic golden sky that reflects so beautifully in the rippling ocean waters. Very informative note that makes one feel sorry for you lack of rainbows. Fortunately for us easterners we get plenty of rain that renders many rainbows and give us an opportunity to come outside for 15 minutes.
Regards, Tom

bakes888 (18055) 2007-09-29 22:03

Hi Pat. Nothing like a harbour scene at sunset to attract my attention! Excellent sky and nice lively water to add life to the scene. The added personal inclusion is a nice touch also. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

paura (37792) 2008-10-03 19:02

Pat,
Colors are very beautiful here. The water surface reflections are other interesting element. well done.

Abraço

Paulo