Chinamans Beach

[stephencamptonjones]

Chinamans Beach near Evans Head, New south Wales.
C&C welcome

[Tony M]

Hi Stephen,

That's a nice rainbow. However, for me, there's something not quite right about the composition, and I'm struggling to put my finger on it and express it (as you'll discover!). I find the bulk of the rock in the right front foreground to be too dominant. The sky looks like it has potential, but you've decided not to show it. The hill to the left doesn't add much to the scene either.

I sound negative, but I think you have a really nice scene here, and I would like to see other photos of it from different viewpoints, if you have any. I'd like to see one that includes the rock formation to the left of the large foreground rock, and the rainbow. A wide angle lens might be interesting too. Another photo could show more of the sky and the rainbow, and less of the beach. These are just suggestions; I really don't know how they'd turn out.

Regards

Tony

[Geoff F]

Possibly, the problem to which Tony is referring, results from the scene being 'too perfect'.

The rainbow is central and the horizon is vertically central.

And yes, that rock formation is more dominant than the sky/rainbow.

So possibly something has to 'give a bit' to become more natural looking. At the moment there are too many elements 'fighting for attention'.

So I think I would try cropping a little from the foreground, to lower the horizon, and a similar amount from one side. There are various reasons for and against each side, so I would probably create a few different crops before deciding which looked best.

There is certainly a stunning image here.

[stephencamptonjones]

Thanks for the feedback Tony and Geoff. I knew this would require some form cropping, I was looking for some thoughts from others.
I didn't mind the rocks in the foreground. I also liked the symmetry of my first post.

[jeeperman]

The last is my favorite. I like the hill on the lft as it helps to direct my eye to the rainbo.

[Mike Buckley]

I agree with Paul that the last photo is best. For me, the symmetry of the first photo results in an image that is too static.

Consider toning down the saturation and darkness of the blue sky. I feel that it distracts the viewer from the double rainbow.

Did you use a polarizer? I ask because using one can intensify the rainbow and I wonder why the upper rainbow appears only on the right side, not the left side.

[stephencamptonjones]

Mike I toned the sky down a little and I didn't use a polariser.

[Drlangfo]

This last one looks great. Oddly, in the first photo my eye was drawn to the rocks and I didnt see the second rainbow. I noticed it right away in the last photo.

[Mike Buckley]

The last one with the toned down sky works much better for me, Stephen. When shooting outdoors, it's always a good idea to have a polarizer handy, though if you shot with a wide angle lens it could have messed up your sky. You were very fortunate to get such a strong rainbow without the enhancement of a polarizer.

[HDphotography]

Thanks for the feedback Tony and Geoff. I knew this would require some form cropping, I was looking for some thoughts from others.
I didn't mind the rocks in the foreground. I also liked the symmetry of my first post.

Great shot. Very well composed. I personally would crop the rock on the right corner. It will make your rainbow less central and it will also draw the viewer's eye to the second rainbow.Try it, you may like it.
- Hemant

[Aforns]

Excellent .. like the edit with less foreground !!! Impressive image !!

[Tony M]

Hi Stephen,

Both the crops are a big improvement in my opinion. I, like David, also noticed the second rainbow in the cropped versions and not in the original one. I find that very interesting; I think the weight of the rocks in the foreground pulled my attention away from it. (Or perhaps I'm just not very observant. )

The hill to the left now looks attractive in the photo. In the other one, I too would crop out the low land mass to the right and go for pure symmetry.

Regards

Tony

[stephencamptonjones]

Hemant I cropped the rock from the right side of the image as you suggested.
Once again thanks for all the C&C I have received. This image started out as a 10 image panorama.