Bahama Beach Sunrise

[lizzy310]

I got up and went for a walk. Took a gazliion pics of the sunrise. Nothing very interesting on the beach...like rocks or trees. This one had the nicest light in the clouds and I liked the reflection on the sand. Not sure it is good to take a photo with no point of interest except the sky. The first photo, is untouched. The 2nd is my poor attempt to play with Elements. This cloning business is a little tricky and the color...well...I've got a lot to learn! Suggestions appreciated!

[lizzy310]

Oh wow...#2 is awful...the color YIKES! Oh well...that's why I'm here.

[FrankMi]

Oh wow...#2 is awful...the color YIKES! Oh well...that's why I'm here.

Hi Liz, these are not bad at all. As you play more with the settings in Elements you'll get a feel for what works best for each type of image you play with. Don't hesitate to go to the help menu and type in search words like 'sunrise', 'beach', 'seascapes' and 'sand' to get tutorials and videos on how to enhance your images in a multitude of ways.

When I'm playing with a new image I make lots of copies in layers, and change each one differently so that I can compare the results. For the fiirst copy I try adjusting Brightness and Contrast, the second, Levels, the third Curves, and so on. After a while you'll be able to look at an image and know exactly what settings you want to apply to get the look you want.

Next time you feel like getting up early and head to the beach for sunrise, try for about half-hour before the sun reaches the horizon. For clouds like these, the sun will light a fire on the underside of the clouds while the sky overhead will still be a deep indigo. Be ready to shoot though, it’ll continuously change minute by minute! Also, if the sand is wet beacuse the tide is going out, you should be able to get a reflection in the samd of the sky colors. Hope this helps!

[lizzy310]

It does help. It was our last day, and I just wanted to go for a walk with my camera. Now that I am learning more I will try more things...times, and all that. I wonder if it would work here where we have a big lake as well?

Hi Liz, these are not bad at all. As you play more with the settings in Elements you'll get a feel for what works best for each type of image you play with. Don't hesitate to go to the help menu and type in search words like 'sunrise', 'beach', 'seascapes' and 'sand' to get tutorials and videos on how to enhance your images in a multitude of ways.

When I'm playing with a new image I make lots of copies in layers, and change each one differently so that I can compare the results. For the fiirst copy I try adjusting Brightness and Contrast, the second, Levels, the third Curves, and so on. After a while you'll be able to look at an image and know exactly what settings you want to apply to get the look you want.

Next time you feel like getting up early and head to the beach for sunrise, try for about half-hour before the sun reaches the horizon. For clouds like these, the sun will light a fire on the underside of the clouds while the sky overhead will still be a deep indigo. Be ready to shoot though, it’ll continuously change minute by minute! Also, if the sand is wet beacuse the tide is going out, you should be able to get a reflection in the samd of the sky colors. Hope this helps!

[FrankMi]

I wonder if it would work here where we have a big lake as well?

Hi Liz, sure! Try to locate a spot where sun is rising/setting almost parallel to the shore as you did in the ones above. If there is something interesting along the shore like a cliff, pier, boats, etc. then that will help as well. If you have time, locate a place to shoot in advance and find out what the sunrise/sunset azmuth will be for the date(s) you hope to get the shots. That way you'll know where, from your shooting location, the sun will rise or set. If you can, allow yourself about an hour. Start about a half-hour before the sunrise or until a half-hour after sunset. You should be able to get the best shots with the sun just below the horizon in either case.

[dje]

Hi Liz

I had a bit of a play with your first image in Elements - hope you don't mind. This was just a quick job with the intention to illustrate how you can get more out of the image.

The steps I used were

• level and crop - I think a wide aspect ratio suits images like this
  
• adjust colour curves
  
• adjust red hue and saturation
  
• apply heavy sharpening to the water and sand

Cheers Dave

[lizzy310]

WOW Dave...that looks really great. I am only starting to learn Elements, so don't know enough yet to do that. It looks wonderful. The beach looked like that, but not at daybreak for 2 weeks...no people. It was amazing. You made it look way more beautiful than the original. Thank you!

Hi Liz

I had a bit of a play with your first image in Elements - hope you don't mind. This was just a quick job with the intention to illustrate how you can get more out of the image.

The steps I used were

• level and crop - I think a wide aspect ratio suits images like this
  
• adjust colour curves
  
• adjust red hue and saturation
  
• apply heavy sharpening to the water and sand

Cheers Dave

[dje]

My pleasure Liz. And I mean that literally, it's satisfying to "bring an image to life". You can do a fair bit with colours with this sort of image without it looking artificial.

Keep practising with Elements and dont forget there are lots of free tutorial's on specific tasks online. All it takes is a Google search !

Dave

[lizzy310]

Thanks Dave...just starting out learning the program, and so I know I will get better at it. It is kind of fun playing with it and trying different things, even if they look awful in the moment.

My pleasure Liz. And I mean that literally, it's satisfying to "bring an image to life". You can do a fair bit with colours with this sort of image without it looking artificial.

Keep practising with Elements and dont forget there are lots of free tutorial's on specific tasks online. All it takes is a Google search !

Dave

[Nicola]

Hi Liz, it is a good pic
Dave and Frank told you many suggestions, and you have a lot of home work and "in field " work for your next walkabout on the beach ...
I would like to add another suggestion.
Try to work hard also in order to improve your skills when shooting.
there are many matters.. just to mention some of those,
composition: the horizon in the middle of the frame is usually avoided in landscapes (see "the rule of thirds") http://photoinf.com/
exposure: learn to use all the metering modes the camera allows you, a lot of the results of Dave's post processing can be reached with a more correct exposition (and composition)
subject: try to identify clearly the subject and try to find the way to emphasize it (the subject is the sky? --> low down the horizon, is the reflection? less sand and vertical crop)
...
I know... photography is a really big "world" ... but that's the reason it is so interesting! isn't it?
we all are here to walk on it round and around !
keep on shooting! you are on a right way!
hope this helps...
Nicola

[lizzy310]

Thanks Nicola...I am a baby at this, and just starting to learn. I think I will start going walking out where I live and see if I can experiment with all the metering modes and stuff. My camera is limited, and it will be the first of the year before I get my new better one, but my little Canon G10 does have manual modes. Maybe I'll have some new fresh photos to post soon.

Hi Liz, it is a good pic
Dave and Frank told you many suggestions, and you have a lot of home work and "in field " work for your next walkabout on the beach ...
I would like to add another suggestion.
Try to work hard also in order to improve your skills when shooting.
there are many matters.. just to mention some of those,
composition: the horizon in the middle of the frame is usually avoided in landscapes (see "the rule of thirds") http://photoinf.com/
exposure: learn to use all the metering modes the camera allows you, a lot of the results of Dave's post processing can be reached with a more correct exposition (and composition)
subject: try to identify clearly the subject and try to find the way to emphasize it (the subject is the sky? --> low down the horizon, is the reflection? less sand and vertical crop)
...
I know... photography is a really big "world" ... but that's the reason it is so interesting! isn't it?
we all are here to walk on it round and around !
keep on shooting! you are on a right way!
hope this helps...
Nicola