Vortex

Well that motion is pretty freakin fun. The comp is ok....but something doesnt resonate with me. Seems to be missing a bit of balance. Might be just me. See how others go with it. The lines in the water are nuts and some great light. A tad bright at the horizon? Nice find and great light :)

aF

"Well that motion is pretty freakin fun. The comp is ok....but something doesnt resonate with me. Seems to be missing a bit of balance. Might be just me. See how others go with it. The lines in the water are nuts and some great light. A tad bright at the horizon? Nice find and great light :)

aF "

Thanks for the feedback! The light in the distance is how it was when I took the shot. While I could work it down a little for artistic purposes, I decided to leave it the way nature displayed it.

I don't like how the rock is cut off, but I had no choice. This whirlpool only lasted long enough to one exposure and never came back. Otherwise I would have done a pano to the left and right to see how it would have worked out.

BTW, My sister just moved out to Hawaii and checked out your art gallery and was really impressed with your work.

That is a cool pattern! I might consider cropping out 2/3 to 3/4 of the sky, to just above the small horizontal cloud above the horizon. I find it really emphasizes the water pattern and balances the comp for me.

I love the motion in the water. I do wish there was something on the left to balance this out a bit more, but this isn't bad at all. Great catch here.

Cool motion in the water. Seems heavy on contrast, magenta, and vignette.

Love the motion and light (and shutter speed). I like the glassy feel of the water, as well.

Great light, lines, and movement. Can you say more about the capture? e.g., shutter speed, filters?

Thanks again for the feedback, guys!

I think I might try shaving off a tiny bit from the top of the frame as suggested for focusing more on the water. I was going to do that once before, but for some reason I was trying to hold onto a 3:2 aspect ratio with this shot.

I really have no critiques, I think this is a pretty killer shot. That foreground is major drool worthy! Those lines! UGGHHHH! So good, Johan!

Nice swirls in the water. Agree with others about the comp. Maybe cropping something off the top?? Either way those swirls are awesome!

Here's a slight crop.

I don't like it much actually. While the water is more in focus within the composition, the opening at the top really bugs me. What I liked about the clouds in the original is that they framed in the top of the photo.

With such a fleeting moment, I guess there's bound to be some compromises made compared to having more than one exposure's worth of time to work with.

Very cool!! As mentioned those swirls and foreground motion look awesome. I can see cropping a little of the sky but really I think this is very nice. Good work Johan!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

I agree with you Johan, the crop doesn't help. I think the original is better.

I like the reflective, glassy look. The sky reflected in the water makes this one special for me. Of course, the water motion lines are very special as well. Good on you for diving in and getting the shot!

Reflections in the swirls-- wow there's a lot going on there! Suggest to go lower still on the crop; you'll come back to having the top framed in and get caught up for sure in the whirlpool!
Amazing catch for one shot!!

Amazing shot, Johan. I love the way your shutter speed described the wave action. Chet

Thanks again for the feedback, folks!

Another heavier crop.

amazing

My vote goes for the original, cropping the clouds would be a shame. But I'm wondering if cropping from the bottom (the lower darker part, putting the horizon in the middle of the picture) might make the picture more balanced? I did a quick 'scroll crop' and for me it seems to work.

I did think about cropping the bottom, but it takes away the strong leading lines.

If I had a 8mm lens (or 14mm on FF) on the 60D, then I could have gotten a a bit better of a composition.

Yeah, compromises suck, but that's what makes landscape photography so much fun!

I actually think that last crop you did is really nice. It helps to make the clouds into leading lines pushing the eye towards the bright part of the horizon.

Johan, I like the feel of the last crop as well. It pretty much takes the comp to 3rds which works very nicely here (as it usually does).

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

I think that the last crop is better. Great lines and beatiful composition

I love the patterns of the water here, Johan, but I find that the rock and its shadow may be a bit too dark. The shadow interrupts the beautiful swirl of the water, and if a big lighter, it might allow that swirl to ... er ... swirl better. I like the idea of dropping down from the top a bit, but not so much that you lose the natural vignetting the cloud patterns produce.

All in all, I think a very interesting image! Good job and an eye-catching photograph!

A stunner of an image worth many replies! For mew there is nothing about it that does not work brilliantly.

Johan,
Just a thought about the 2 crops...
I like both...but
if I was making a BIG print (20x30 or so)
I believe the original crop would work, with all those great clouds as an added bonus...
for smaller prints the 2ed crop might work better...
again .. just an observation
Great shot...nice work

Thanks again, folks! I appreciate the feedback and I hope it shows that I do value your input.

I agree that for larger prints the original does work well, but for web the final crop is better.