Jo-Ann Rolle
January 2025 - St. Kitts: A Photographic Journey
Original
About the Image(s)
These two images of the island of St. Kitts, showcase the breathtaking beauty of this Caribbean gem, where vivid blue waters blend seamlessly with the sky, kissed by angelic clouds that embody the island’s ethereal charm. Each photo invites viewers to marvel at the harmonious interplay of land, sea, and sky, offering a glimpse into the awe-inspiring wonders of the universe.
The original image captures the island’s rich density, balancing the intricate details of the lower terrain with the grandeur of the majestic mountainside. In contrast, the revised photograph offers a more curated view. By cropping out peripheral distractions, the composition draws the eye to the lush cinematic landscape, highlighting the vibrant local colors and natural beauty in stunning detail.
Both images were imported in Lightroom to enhance sharpness and focus. The revised image also underwent Lightroom’s auto-straighten tool for better alignment after cropping.
I typically shoot with two Canon cameras, but due to health challenges with my shoulders, back, and knee, carrying them while traveling has become difficult. For the holidays, I treated myself to a new Sony ZV-1F and started experimenting with it. While capturing these shots, I realized the need for a stabilizer and purchased one after this photo was taken. This experience has been a delightful learning curve, and I’m excited to continue exploring photography with my new setup.
8 comments posted
Congrats on your trip to St. Kitts. I was there many years ago and it was lovely.
The first thing I notice is your image is tilted, going down on the right. This is a key thing you'll want to fix in all your images--it happens when we press the shutter down too hard and the camera takes a dip downward. The quick fix in Lightroom is the TRANSFORM panel. Just tap "Auto" in the top center of the panel and your image is straightened! If it crops too much off, click the "constrain crop in the bottom left of the panel, and it will be fixed!
Your writing skills are marvelous! In your image, I'd pick a subject for our eye to find and see the many features you are interested in--sky, sea, clouds, mountains, seaside. You've made the sky 2/3 of the image, so, compositionally, the sky is what you want to hold your audience's attention.
If you want us to be more involved the land, I'd bring your audience there by cropping down from the sky and the sea. I'd consider cropping from the right and taking us to the mountains (as an option). I'll post a rework when my Lightroom drive backup is done and I can use Lightroom.
A great free hour long class on Composition by Scott Kelby is on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/SKelby. Scroll to his Dec 12 book chat video on his book "Crush the Composition". You can skip his chatter and just watch his discussion of Composition. Also, go to his Dec 4 post on Blind Photo Critiques. He has these every month on a Wednesday at 1pm, so you can watch hundreds of them for free. After 3, you'll know what changes will create the most impact. Again, you can skip the ads and chatter, and look how he critiques three photos by the same photographer. It will really up your game! Posted: 01/07/2025 16:41:00
I think there is still a lot of water and sky to get the idea of an island. I straightened it, as explained above.
I chose "Auto" in camera raw as a starting point. And I chose one of the Camera Raw presets, TR02 (under travel) and that deepened the color a bit. I did not choose the mountains and add texture, open shadows, etc, as my suggestions would mostly be about creating a composition and subject, that I discussed above. Posted: 01/08/2025 19:14:04
