Gumasa Beach, Sarangani Province

[thedrew]

Hi People! 

What do you think of this photo at the beach?

[© Tom Cooper]

The contrast is too high.  The ocean is tilted (horizon not level).  The sky and sea are unnaturally blue, and there seems to be a general lack of sharpness.

 

Those are just the technical issues.  There are also a host of compositional issues that I will elave to others.

[kenfowkes]

On my screen the ocean is almost purple!

Assuming you were intentionally going for a silhouette, I think the contrast is fine. The important thing for silhouette's is that the subject be recognizable in profile, so this works for me.  You did a nice job of aligning things so that he is nicely framed by the white sand.

Black is a bold element and to my taste it needs to be given its just allotment of space. I think I would have liked this better if you had moved back to include more of the tree trunk on the right. A slightly lower angle would have given space between the horizon and leaves, and l think that would have been a good thing. If there was a branch above the top of the frame I might have included some of that too in order to have the black wrap more around the frame. All judgement calls -- food for thought.

Regards!

- KenF