Paul Swepston  


Mont Saint-Michel at Low Tide by Paul Swepston

August 2019 - Mont Saint-Michel at Low Tide

About the Image(s)

Camera: Nikon D7200, tripod, f7.1, ISO 200, 16 mm focal length.

This is an HDR image created from 5 images each separated by one stop. Using Photoshop I removed people on the beach and used the burn tool to darken stripes of sand in the foreground to add some contrast to the beach.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
11 comments posted




Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
(Group 52)
You have done a nice job of bringing out the detail in the foreground, but for me the "party" is in the upper portion of the image. My suggestion would be to crop away about half of the foreground sand. The sky was not helping you here, in my opinion, but it might be possible to pull more drama out in that area. I think I would consider adding a graduated ND effect in Lightroom or the one in NIK Color Efex Pro and using some control points or brushing in some clarity, as long as it does not add too much graniness in the sky. I am envious of your ability to travel and capture images of places like this.   Posted: 08/05/2019 18:49:47
Paul Swepston   Paul Swepston
Thanks Sharon. I took your advice and I think it helped. The ND filter didn't add too much noise.   Posted: 08/14/2019 10:37:35
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
(Group 52)
I think your edited version is a winner. Nice work.   Posted: 08/14/2019 10:52:10



Barbara Dunn   Barbara Dunn
This is a place that is so mysterious and beautiful, and you have captured that in your shot. Nice detail on the buildings and overall color. I like the foreground detail, and to me, all of the sand surrounding the island is part of the mystery of the monastery.   Posted: 08/09/2019 16:21:46
Paul Swepston   Paul Swepston
Thanks Barbara. Actually I tried Photoshopping a ruined boat into the bottom right corner but I could never make it look real. Then I tried adding a big boulder but it didn't add any interest to the overall composition - thus lots of sand at low tide.   Posted: 08/14/2019 10:39:26



Steven Wharram   Steven Wharram
A good image and one that made me think who I agreed with. Sharon or Barbara? Personally, for me, because of the size of the island I feel that you could have removed some of the sand. This would have had the added effect of moving the horizon further from the centre. A stormier sky would have been good but the blue line of sky on the horizon wold probably made it look strange.
Makes me want to go back to St Michael's Mount here in Cornwall in the UK. I'm down there quite often but have not visted the Mount in a while!   Posted: 08/10/2019 10:52:14
Paul Swepston   Paul Swepston
I had never heard of St Michael's Mount in Cornwall but now that I've looked it up it is on my list of places to visit. Thanks for the information.   Posted: 08/14/2019 10:41:24



Timothy Morton   Timothy Morton
Unlike Steven I enjoy the sand as it allows one to realize we are close but not that close to the building and allows one to think about last stage of us walking to see the building up close.   Posted: 08/11/2019 19:15:13
Paul Swepston   Paul Swepston
I also took photos that did not include much sand but I thought it left out the feeling of how isolated the place is. To add interest to the sand I tried a number of things, including cutting out some footprints from other photos and placing them so it seemed like they headed from the bottom of the image to the town, but I could not make them look very good so I gave up on that.   Posted: 08/14/2019 10:44:14



Paul Swepston   Paul Swepston
Sorry for the delay but I've been traveling...I've cut out some sand and added an ND filter from Color Efex.   Posted: 08/12/2019 12:04:20
Comment Image



Wendy Stanford   Wendy Stanford
Hi Paul,
You have put a lot of work into this image, and I do like the edited version, as the sky has so much potential. Reducing the sand, but keeping some of the detail and cropping on the right side has enhanced the image and bought the island closer to the viewer allowing you to see the nice sharp detail.   Posted: 08/20/2019 07:39:08