Tidal Secrets

I'm sure this will receive many superlatives . . . and deservedly so. It's a fascinating shot that you composed and executed just about perfectly from my perspective. Wonderful stuff! I could see perhaps bringing down the darker tones in the bottom 1/3 or so, but otherwise have no critiques to offer. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work from this area over time.

I love the ultra low perspective Floris. I also like the clarity in the foreground and the partial reflection of clouds in the mid ground. Beautiful work.

A wonderful mix of elements here Floris! Me likey!

Super image. Wow, "2mm or so from the surface!" that is some crazy minimum focusing distance. How deep was the water at the fg? What lens did you have on? Great shot.

This image will become a BIG WINNER!

My greetings to you Floris & for your Polarizer.

Floris, the interplay of the subsurface structures with the reflections results in an amazing surrealistic image. The clouds in the sky finally lead me back to reality. It is like the visualization of different elements in a dream, that appear incoherent at first sight. An outstanding work.

Peter

Awesome. The foreground is priceless. Ironically, I actually think I'd like the image without that seastack.

Floris .. haven't got words to express. Extraordinary ..and and out of the world work ..well done ..

Balan Vinod

Absolutely beautiful Floris. The details and color in the larger version are amazing!

As Phil has said, the superlatives will be many. Can I add mine? This is an incredible photograph! As a biologist with a fondness for west coast tidal pools, this photograph has incredible power and beauty. I also know how difficult it is to get a shot like this, broken ankles, bruises and holes in the pants spring to mind. What an inspiration this is! I guess I should stop now...lol!
Kat Enns

Stunning

I really like the colors of this. The water reminds me of glass counter at a department store, you can look but not touch what's beneath it. Very Cool!

Thanks folks!!

Bruce - this was with the Nikon 14-24. The water was nearly a foot deep at the bottom of the frame.

Mohsen - no polarizer (doesn't fit on the 14-24). The angle of incoming sunlight and the angle of the camera allowed me to see straight through water without any glare problems, at least in the foreground before the sky reflection kicks in.

Wow, how great is it that you got "lucky" after three days of scouting.
Ecxellent preparation and execution, so you deserved the clouds and light (and maybe the timing with the tides, too.) This combines the qualities of a unique artistic image and a clear biological illustration. Double kudos!

Fantastic! So many interesting elements in this.

Just great!
The low angle is perfect, and the colors and comp too.
A very uniqye shot!
The lower water area seems a bit bright, though, and I'd suggest removing that one little dark blip at the left center.
Sandy

Cool! That is a seriously unique landscape.

bizarre and extraordinary Floris. Fascinating and eye catching.

I'd be absolutely thrilled to have any aspect of this photo as mine... a mind-boggling combination Floris, congrats!

Neato, supercool and groovy to borrow from an earlier language era. I really like it though.

Original and distinctive. The lack of depiction of the ocean here creates suspense, mystery, and drama. This has yin yang flavor to it mixing the pacific northwestern tidal pool with the southwestern style presentation of the sea stack.

Michael

Very interesting image and well executed. Excellent clarity and colors on the subsurface portion with just enough reflection to add perspective. While I do think the rocks around the pool are a necessary component, IMO the seastack doesn't add that much to the overall effect.

I absolutely love the perspective and your chosen composition. The clarity in the foreground is just amazing. Great work.

Totally awesome image Floris, I love the in your face perspective here. As always, great presentation on beautiful image.

Gobsmacker Floris!

Fantastic perspective Floris, nicely done.

No split water shot here huh? Nice work good sir. Excellent clouds and light!

aF

nothing much to add here Floris! a super shot, love the low perspective and the clarity of the pool and its contents...there's just sooo much for the eye to soak in here!

Hi Floris....this is certainly a fabulous image, excellent perspective and comp. That said, my personal taste is to shy away from a super-wide perspective because of the inherent distortion it induces. The water surface looks like a curved glass bowl containing the plant life in it - nothing you could have done about that, that's just the nature of wide angle optics when used in the perspective you chose. It's a great artistic image, but is also an example of the type of image that I frequently quote in relation to that oft-asked question: "is this really how it looked?". there is nothing faked here, you did not even use a polarizer. this image looks exactly like I would expect, but *through the lens of the camera*. That's not the same as saying it looked like that to the naked eye. Nothing wrong with that, just a question of personal taste. I'd still be thrilled to have it in my portfolio!

Wonderful dof. The reflection of the sea stack is crystal clear. The light was perfect. A truly incredible image.

A unique find, Floris, and well composed. No nits here.

Kartik - there's no such thing as a photograph that looks exactly as it did to the naked eye. And since the human experience is not limited to a 2-dimensional surface from a single (static) perspective, to me it doesn't make sense to limit oneself to making images that *try* to do just that. When I'm standing at the beach, I don't experience it from a single point of view (or even with just my visual sense). I get down on my belly and see the anemones up close; I walk up to the sea stacks and feel the textures; I smell the ocean air; I stick my hands in the chilly water; I wiggle my toes in the sand; I look through binoculars at the flying pelicans; I roam from one tide pool to the next, etc. Given that the human sensory experience is so incredibly rich, why would I limit myself to roughly a 50mm lens (that's the focal length that best approximates the primary portion of our visual field)? I'm already losing the sense of touch, smell, hearing, and taste!

I can certainly understand that wide angle distortion is not everyone's cup of tea.. but in many cases I find it gets me a lot closer to capturing the full experience than any other focal length could (because it includes so much more information, and generally creates for more dynamic compositions). Furthermore, my personal goal is primarily to create art, but art that is (by definition) grounded in my experience of the natural world.

But I respect the fact that everyone is different, and I appreciate you sharing your personal thoughts

Stunning work Floris. Very Nice

Ian

This is a fantastic photograph Floris. I love your creative use of the wide angle lens.

A very unique photo showing the two worlds above and below the sea. Excellent work!

awesome floris. images like this are what keep me interested in uwa shooting.

The inclusion of that stack and its reflection really ties these two halves together nicely. I particularly enjoy the waviness found in both the fg and sky clouds. Beautiful work!

LOL, that is just bizarre! In a cool way.

I especially like the perspective, the clarity, and the wonderful colors and textures of the foreground.

Lovely!! Very different and beautiful. Great work, Floris! Amazing composition and all.

Reminds me of my brother's sink when he was in law school....Otherwise, a marvelous image! Joe.

Very cool! From the thumbnail it looks like a bunch of cut in half limes with a bottle popping out of the horizon!

Killer shot! The perspective here is stunning. I agree with the others that the stack really isn't necessary here. I say this from the standpoint that the sea stack grounds this image in reality. That can certainly be seen as a good thing -- but since your foreground so surreal, a simple rocky edge of the pool and clouds would make this photo seem completely surreal. In any case -- amazing shot man.

Such an interesting FG it's hard to look at anything else!

What an unusual image! I especially love how it establishes a connection between two worlds - one above the surface and one below.

I don't know what to say
this is unbelievable
unique
Also, these anemones have beautiful color contrast with the sky

I've never seen an image like this before. The clarity, colors and just the scene in general are all exceptional. Top notch 'development' is the cherry on the cake. Your efforts here paid off very well, Floris!

Exccelent point of view! Fantastic light. Well done!

I missed this somehow earlier; doesn't look anyone else missed it though! I love the perspective here - excellent work. This will look so good printed large. Excellent concept and execution, and the 14-24 is a very impressive lens too.

Interesting, evocative, and gorgeous. It certainly hasn't taken you long to adapt, photographically, to your new environment. Where ever you go, you nail it. Please send more!

Nice! I was hoping for something like this in the keys a few weeks back but too windy.

Hi Floris,

just to be clear, I'm no purist in terms of trying to create images that are "real as seen by the naked eye". My objective is to produce an artistic image while trying to stay true to the scene. From all your images, I'd say that's been your approach as well. I also love WA images, and sure enough, sometimes that's the only way to go to get what you want in the frame. I was just stating a personal preference to back off a little bit when the perspective-induced distortion becomes a bit obvious (which in itself is entirely subjective!). Like I said, love the image, a killer shot...just a little too much distortion (unavoidable of course) for my taste. Great work!

Really fantastic shot Floris, the content and all it's colours look great.

Gary.

Having attempted to shoot scenes like this and having approx 6 gigs of photos on my hard drive of failed tries... I know just how hard it is to pull this particular one off...and you did so like a champ! Really beautiful, unique coastal image here Floris!

Man this is one wild image Floris, very cool find! I have a hard time connecting the bottom with the top, but still a very visually striking image. Nice work.

Absolutelly wonderful image. Perfect composition and the exposure - evidently difficult - was handled in a great way.

It's hard to know how this might fair in the judgments of non-photographers. It's obviously an initial "wow", but I think there might be an almost simultaneous "that looks weird". As Kartik mentioned, a photographer can rationalize the look through knowledge of lenses and perspective distortion, but I don't know how many others would be able to come to grips with the look. It's something of a boundary pushing image, and that's nearly always likable. In general, there's a lot to like.

Very cool, Floris! Love it

sick !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Floris! What a shot! !!

Hi Floris,
You know english is not my first language, so let me just throw a few adjectives I know:
- beautiful
- surreal
- colorful
- ethereal

there's a few factors at play here to distort perception (the ultra-wide lens, the refraction of light in water, the reflection on the water's surface). but this is a great, colourful image that is full of creativity. well executed.

Patience wonderfully rewarded! The tide pool is simply perfect.

such a fantastic fg in this. Excellent

Cool! If i ever get back to the Pacnw (one day...) this is the kind of stuff i would love to play with. Overall, i think this is a real winner. To be super picky, something about the water/reflection bugs me--but maybe im just having a flashback to all those 'rocks-under-the-water-at-alpine-lake-shots' that you see so often. Guess im just wondering how it would have looked with more--or less reflection. But im sure you wondered that too when you took the shot! Anyhow--neat shot!

What a place! And what an image! Masterly done.
Herb