I have had two trips to Kaikoura in the last 6 months and I still have a lot of photos to work through and process. This was the last image I took of my trip in Dec 2013, I stopped at a bay where there were hundreds of seagulls nesting on these rock outcrops in the sea. Were a couple of seals out there as well.
I have done two treatments of this image, the first one is a plain process the way I would normally process. The second one is has an application of an On One Warm Gritty Punch filter. On One have some sample filters you can download for free and I wanted to experiment with this image to give the rocks more texture and character
Image processed as I normally would have in LR4 – click to embiggen
Image above then edited further with On One Gritty preset
I like the top one because it captures the image as it was when I was there, warm summers day, blue sky, greenblue sea, white seagulls etc.
The second image has a darker colder tone, the rocks are more present in the image, there is more texture. The water looks colder and deeper and more dangerous swirling around the rocks. It feels more rugged which does the coastline justice.
Both images have merit, and I like both of them, but I am not sure which I should use to represent the moment that I was there. What do you think?
I’ll say the first one captures the moment better. It looks warm and rich
I guess that would depend on your feelings and impressions while you were there. Did you feel warm and relaxed or were you more in awe of the rocks and water? Did you think the water would feel warm or cold if you tipped your toe in? I like both of them.
I prefer the first one – looks more inviting…
Both versions are great, but I like the first one the best. Great job, too!
Maybe a good idea would be to go back there on a grey day and take another photo of this and let it show the rugged, dangerous overtones of the coastline at Kaikoura. The first photo shows how beautiful Kaikoura can be – it is one of my favourite places in NZ. There is a coldness to the second version which doesn’t do the place justice – except on one of those cloudy, stormy, cold days that NZ does so well
I like the cold feeling of the second one because the weather can change so quickly and what was warm and inviting can be cold and dangerous so quickly. I guess its the dichotomy between the two moods that has me so undecided, both are valid, not necessarily for the moment I captured tho
Top one wins for me
Thanks, its very much what the day was like when I was there. Very pretty spot on a nice day.
Both are beautiful. I actually prefer the second one because I can visualize actually being there better when looking at it.
I like the first one.
The first one is getting the most votes for sure