s w i r l s
by Ja-9

Comment by illini75:
Beautiful

s w i r l s
by Ja-9

Comment by markwiley:
I find macros much harder than they look. This one grabs your attention.

s e c r e t s • o f • t h e • s e a
by Ja-9

Comment by Garry:
Nice detail, but find I'm rather burnt out on the subject having seen it previously. Also, some artifacting/sloppy masking on the right hand side I find to be very distracting.

the sea is calling
by Ja-9

Comment by Garry:
Hi Janine, greetings from the Critique Club :)

With a placing of 14 out of 89, it's clear this image resonated well with the viewer, especially considering you averaged more 7's than 5's.

For the positives, I really like the centered composition and the phenomenal detail. The reflection in the water is particularly beautiful too. However, where it falls short, in my view, is the processing. While I understand that HDR and HDR-like effects are very popular with the DPC crowd, I feel it is often over-done, as is the case here. The tonemapping has been pushed a little too far for me, to such a degree that the subject no longer appears natural. The image needs more shadows and contrast to make it believable. The other things with the processing is that the area to the immediate right of the pier (ie. water and sky) appear darker and "browner" than the the main body. Either this is a masking issue, or an issue with the processing, but the two parts of the image don't look like they belong together. Lastly, I found that the whole image appears to be sloping badly to the left (I can tell you did straighten the horizon, but the angle of the incoming wave gives the tilted effect..not much you could do about that!).

I know it appears I am being overly critical (which I probably am), but I do so in an effort to be as honest with my critique as possible and to let you know what I was feeling when I evaluated the image.

If you have any questions/comments about my critique, please feel free to PM me!

Kind regards,
Garry

s e c r e t s • o f • t h e • s e a
by Ja-9

Comment by MadMan2k:
This looks familiar...

s e c r e t s • o f • t h e • s e a
by Ja-9

Comment by Pangurban:
Really like how the movement of the waves has been captured.

s w i r l s
by Ja-9

Comment by Pangurban:
A lovely subject, beautiful colours and great interpretation for the challenge.

s e c r e t s • o f • t h e • s e a
by Ja-9

Comment by bmartuch:
Great perspective and I love the water crashing in.

s e c r e t s • o f • t h e • s e a
by Ja-9

Comment by Gordon_1:
Slip one into FS too ja9 :) nice processing and detail maybe a tad over sharpened.. i bet you cant pick mine..lol

s h e l l s
by Ja-9

Comment by Lydia:
7 from me.l.. lovely burst of sunshine into my soul!