Ruth Sprain  


Sailboat at Dry Tortuga by Ruth Sprain

May 2022 - Sailboat at Dry Tortuga

May 2022 - Ruth Sprain

Original

About the Image(s)

I took this photo in February along the beach at Dry Tortuga National Park in Florida. I like how the dock structure framed the sailboat.

The photo was taken with my Canon 7D at f-13, 1/350. at 24 mm.

In Lightroom and PhotoShop, I straightened the lines of the beach and dock, dodged and burned, cloned out the lamp on the post, saturated, and sharpened. What suggestions do you have?


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




Michael Hrankowski   Michael Hrankowski
Hi Ruth. I'm getting to be a big fan of coastal photography. I like how you framed the catamaran by the boat hoist - a nice composition with symmetry and balance. Your edit choices were appropriate and improved the image in my opinion. As far as the edit goes, I found myself wanting something else to lead my eye more immediately to the boat. I'll try to do a trial edit when I get back to my main laptop, but I'll try to describe what I'm envisioning: 1) Bring up the luminance / highlights on the boat somewhat. 2) Use the brush tool with a 100% feather to create a subtle bright streak from the boat into the foreground water, parallel with the dock on the right side and consistent with the sun angle. (May or may not work, but maybe worth a try!). Nicely timed capture!   Posted: 05/06/2022 13:46:33
Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
Michael, I agree with you that the boat needs some emphasis. Subtle lines leading to the boat might help.   Posted: 05/24/2022 09:36:35



Oliver Morton   Oliver Morton
(Groups 5 & 62)
Ruth, I really like how you framed the boat. You really direct the viewer's eyes to the catamaran. Nice! I decided to see how your photograph would look in a square format. And, while I was at it I played with the lighting and color balance of the boat. What are your thoughts?

  Posted: 05/09/2022 10:47:15
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Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
Oliver, thank you for your suggestions. I really like the square cropping and how you brightened the scene.   Posted: 05/11/2022 12:16:30



 
I like Oliver's square idea, as it helps focus the eye on the boat more.Good framing, Ruth.   Posted: 05/10/2022 13:31:17



Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Ruth, I really like how you framed the catamaran. The colors are vibrant and the perspective draws the eye right to the subject. I wanted to see what it would look like to crop just a bit off the right side and in the foreground. What do you think? I like the square crop that Oliver posted is nice but I feel like having a bit more beach in the foreground draws one into the frame. Very beautiful coastal image.   Posted: 05/10/2022 17:42:05
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Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
Thanks, Mary Ann, for your comments. I see that the right post is a bit crooked like you mentioned.   Posted: 05/24/2022 09:37:57



LuAnn Thatcher   LuAnn Thatcher
Hello Ruth,

I like the warm and cool tones in your ocean photo, and the creative framing of the boat lift makes for an original point of view. I find your dodging, burning, and cloning out the lamp were good choices.

I really like Oliver's suggestion of the square crop. Removing the elements on the shore, in my observation, improves the photograph because it simplifies it; now, I can focus on the boat in the ocean. I am curious, did you dodge the white boat? I sense there is a haloing effect around the boat. If so, just lower the effect a bit. Lastly, I am finding the exposure a bit dark. I would like to recommend using the Tone Curve in Lightroom to brighten the image instead of using the sliders. Have you used the Tone Curve much? I am finding it makes adjustments really easy with minimal changes. On the Input I have 115 and Output 143.

LT   Posted: 05/16/2022 08:18:40
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Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
LuAnn, I used a radial filter on the boat and it affected the water a bit. Then I did some dodging, but it brought out the blue tones too much. I agree with you about raising the exposure a bit. I'll have to look at the Tone Curve.   Posted: 05/24/2022 09:41:35
Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
LuAnn, I raised the exposure and dodged the sailboat more. Since I did the work in PhotoShop, I didn't use the tone curve, just exposure. I used the suggestions from Michael, Oliver, Mary Ann, and Kieu-Hanh-Hanh too. What do you think?   Posted: 05/24/2022 10:07:30
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Kieu-Hanh Vu   Kieu-Hanh Vu
Hi Ruth,

I like the way you used the structure of the dock to frame the boat in the perfect position. The waves coming to the shore add more impact to the scene.
I'd prefer to enhance the highlights and crop tighter on the foreground a bit to eliminate something like the seaweed or shells that were left on the sand.
  Posted: 05/22/2022 20:31:44
Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
Thanks for your comments, Kieu-Hanh.   Posted: 05/24/2022 09:34:21