Image Critique # 11
Image by Andrew Turner

Hi and welcome to the October Image Critique, a big thank you to Andrew for sharing his image with us.
Image Details:
Camera ~ Canon EOS
Lens ~ 17-35 @ 18mm
f5.6 - 1/640th sec - 100 iso -
WB - Custom 4800K
Image captured as a RAW
Image Details:
Camera ~ Canon EOS
Lens ~ 17-35 @ 18mm
f5.6 - 1/640th sec - 100 iso -
WB - Custom 4800K
Image captured as a RAW
OK so this image is a bit different to other Landscape images that I have critiqued so I'll take a slightly different approach.
First lets look at the image in terms of technique and colour.
It is a good capture where Andrew has been mindful of a faster shutter speed to freeze the action. He has had to shoot quite wide to get the kite in. The custom WB has caused the image to be very BLUE, which could be a personal thing, also I think the image has been stretched as the person in the shallows looks that way, I could be wrong !! I'm guessing Andrew may have used a polarizer to cut some of the glare off the water, and there is fantastic detail in the sky, so a good tonal range has been captured.
BELOW is a cropped version, I have cropped the wave out in the foreground and resize to squash back to what I think looks normal. I think the square format adds a new dimension and there is a nice strong diagonal working between the kite and the observer in the shallows.
First lets look at the image in terms of technique and colour.
It is a good capture where Andrew has been mindful of a faster shutter speed to freeze the action. He has had to shoot quite wide to get the kite in. The custom WB has caused the image to be very BLUE, which could be a personal thing, also I think the image has been stretched as the person in the shallows looks that way, I could be wrong !! I'm guessing Andrew may have used a polarizer to cut some of the glare off the water, and there is fantastic detail in the sky, so a good tonal range has been captured.
BELOW is a cropped version, I have cropped the wave out in the foreground and resize to squash back to what I think looks normal. I think the square format adds a new dimension and there is a nice strong diagonal working between the kite and the observer in the shallows.
Why we Take Photos
So lets talk about why we take photo's. One of the reasons why is to tell a story and I think Andrews picture tells just that. I have to admit I do have a connection with this image as I have windsurfed since my 30's. I was in Hawaii in the mid 90's when I saw the first Kite surfer and it happened to be the French guy that invented it. The sport was very raw at the time and he was getting launched 30ft into the air and slammed back down into the ocean, I remember thinking phf this sport will never take off. Oh how I was wrong. Windsurfing and Kiting is a really hard sport to learn and so this image really brings back a lot of memories learning and seeing others on the same journey. For that reason I love this image and think it is very powerful, however I'm not saying it will wins awards. Some images ring true with us, others don't. But it is important that we make images that have meaning and that we view images with an open mind. One element in this image that really tells the story is the guy in the shallows, watching and encouraging the young kiter, take that person out and we lose the whole story. Can you see how important some elements are to an image.
Well done Andrew I think you have captured a great moment and it tells a great story.
Cheers Dean Cooper
Well done Andrew I think you have captured a great moment and it tells a great story.
Cheers Dean Cooper
Thanks and feel free to leave a comment
Thanks for reading and thanks Andreq for sharing your image with us.
November Image Critique will be open at the start of the month, to submit an image you need to be subscribed to my Newsletter.
November Image Critique will be open at the start of the month, to submit an image you need to be subscribed to my Newsletter.