Nightski

Canon 6D
Canon 16-35mm 2.8L
B+W 10 stop screw on filter
ISO 100
16mm
f/16
61 seconds
There were some 2-3 foot waves on the lake this day, but this area was a little more calm because it was protected. Therefore I was able to get the boat in focus. This was taken the same day as my "All That Remains" photograph. The waves were much more active in that area of Lake Superior. Here's the link.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-154973-1.html

B & W


Color

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

I like them both nightski although I think my preference for long exposure stuff is nearly always mono, but I do like the subdued colour in the one below. A great continuation from your other long exposure work.

creativ simon Loc: Coulsdon, South London

Nice work. Color works for me

Nightski

Thank you, Lighthouse. Yes, I agree about the mono, but my heart wants that special boat to show it's colors. :-D

Nightski

Thank you, Simon. :-D

alaskan

Here is a silly question: if this photo is about the tugboat why is half of it missing while we have prominent rocks in our face and the lower right quarter of the photo is more or less a negative space contributing nothing? While your "All That Remains" was a good example of correct composition this one is the opposite.

Nightski

:D :D :D Hey, Alaskan. I think I did have all the tugboat in the photo before cropping. I guess I wanted the whole thing..the tugboat, the pier, the feel of the infinite water to play a part in this scene. Let me rethink this, possibly recompose, and get back to you. I'm glad to see you're not letting me get away with anything here though. :thumbup:

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I'll stick my head above the parapet and agree with that. You do have a slight tendency to let the foreground be too dominant. Having a foreground is USUALLY better than having none, but it's not obligatory, and like most things it's possible to overdo it.

And while it's good to be familiar with the usual guidelines, we should never forget basic stuff like how the frame is filled (e.g. is it balanced or is there a deliberate imbalance).

Nightski

I noticed you put slight in bold..LOL. That was kind of you, RG. Let me see what I can do. I think I got that whole boat. I did so much fiddling with it trying to learn elements last night, I can't even remember what I did now. I have a long way to go in that program. :roll:

You know, I may have to go up the North Shore again and redo. Oh darn it anyway! :D

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Having said that, I do like the way the curve of the rocks starts at the bottom RHS and sweeps away to the horizon.

Nightski

It does have a nice flow. Perhaps if I just go back and get the whole boat. Or maybe I have it, but there was something ugly and that's why I cropped it. I truly can't remember.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

You refer to the tugboat in the title, but the whole scene is worthy of capture. For example, the graceful curve of the mooring ropes is pleasing to the eye.

And it'll probably help if it's not blowing a gale that's drenching you with spray....

alaskan

Well,what a shocker.To be honest with you I expected crucifixion with me playing the main part. :lol:
One more thing:are you sure about the 61 second exposure?You said there were 2-3 foot waves but this area was kind of protected.Some of the water motion would transfer even into the protected area turning the tug blurry.Was it sitting on some pilings?

Nightski

Well, there were big waves out on the lake, but in this little area it was quite a bit calmer. There were some gentle waves, but I think that tug is so big that they didn't really affect it. Yes. 61 seconds. It's says so in Lightroom, and I did have the big stopper on in very gloomy cloudy conditions, so you know that's about right. You can really see the difference in the 2 pics I took. Go look at the other one I gave the link for. The same lake, just an hour later, maybe not even that long. You can tell by the foggy look how much more turbulent the lake was out in the open.

Would you still hate it if I had the whole tugboat in? I mean, my composition isn't totally off here? I do have a nice leading line out to the infinity of the lake, don't you think? Be Honest! I want to know.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

I take a different viewpoint that the composition doesn't work.
There is not a thing wrong with the composition.
Beautiful negative space.
Nice curving foreground line leading and curving into the pic from the bottom right, encompassing the image.
Nice strong diagonal opposites.
Background interest, strong foreground detail.
Yes I agree that getting in the bum of the boat might have helped, but that is about subject, not composition.

But how to get the bum of the boat in without losing the curving lead in line?
Lens is already at 16mm so can't go wider.
So to keep the foreground leading curve and get the stern in would mean stepping back from the edge and turning the camera slightly right. This would lose the close sharp foreground detail which I think is one of the images strong points.
There also might be structural negatives that are picked up by the wide angle in doing this. eg distracting foreground lines or elements, more sky would have to be included and then cropped off to keep the leading line coming in from the bottom right corner.
Or sometimes different viewpoints just make things look funny with ultrawides.