Sea shells by the sea shore

[srmoment]

I visited my favorite lighthouse a few days ago and came across this sight - someone(s) had found shells and put them on one of the arbutus logs.  The effect is so cool!
Which of these do you think works best?  any....none....?  Suggestions for improvement?    [Editor's note:  I don't think imgbb is bringing in the full resolution as some details seems to be lost. The files may be too large and I was too lazy to do a save for web....]

#1



#2


#3

[pontiac1940]

Well, first off, that is very neat. Begged to be photographed and you have done very well. 
#1 for me. For me, the driftwood is too overpowering in 2 and 3. 
Two comments about #1.

• I'd clone out the boat in the far right
• The horizon line is a tad sloped upward to the right 

Real nice Pat!

(Thumbs up.) 

[BuckSkin]

#3 gets my vote.

I don't like to critique other people's endeavors; but, #3 would be almost perfect if the foreground was just a bit crisper --- and it may just be the nature of the log.

And, maybe, swing the end of the log around to the left, so you still get all the details, still have the lighthouse framed in the fork, but have the right fork all the way to the right; but then, if you got to moving the log around, all the seashells would probably fall off.

What is "arbutus" ?

[Peterj]

I like #2 the best. If this were my image I'd accentuate the existing foreground blur and slightly de-saturate the driftwood and shells; and possibly crop some of the foreground.

[tonyw]

My preference would also be for #3 but I would crop some off the bottom and some off the right - maybe about a 1/3 of each so you are left with the fork and some shells framing the lighthouse.

Tony

[hmca]

Well this is fun, Pat. I like reading everyone's thoughts so might as well throw mine in as well. I would go with two but crop off some of the foreground....would need to play around with it to decide just where though as I see that as a bit of a dilemma. Maybe add a slight vignette.

[srmoment]

Thanks everyone. Your help is very much appreciated!

The arbutus tree seems to be unique to coastal areas and is quite beautiful. Here is a description:

The Arbutus tree; also known as the Madrona or Madrone, is native to the western coastal areas of North America. It is very difficult to transplant and loves very rocky areas that face south in the sun. Their bark is a orange/red colour and it peels like the skin of a snake exposing a satin feeling trunk underneath. It is an evergreen tree that flowers in the spring and grows red berries in the fall. When the berries shrivel they grow barbs that they use to attach themselves to animals for transplant. These trees can grow up to 98 feet in ideal growing conditions. Their colours and curving trunk makes them a beautiful tree to sketch into landscapes.

[BuckSkin]

Dec 16, 2021 20:28:53 GMT srmoment said:

The arbutus tree seems to be unique to coastal areas and is quite beautiful.

Thanks for the description.

I wonder if some of the seeds were to get dropped on the East coast, whether the trees would take hold and thrive.

It makes no mention as to whether the wood is useful for anything; I sort of think probably not just by the look of the pictured example.

[srmoment]

After some research, I determined that arbutus wood:
is very hard
is so dense that when a piece of wood is fresh, it will sink in water and not float
As a firewood, it is ideal as it burns very hot leaving few ashes.

Workability: Arbutus is easy to work with machine and hand tools, and compares similarly to Hard Maple in working characteristics. The wood can be difficult to dry, and has a tendency to warp or twist. Arbutus is an excellent turning wood, and also takes stains and finishes well.

Arbutus wood has historically been used for walking sticks.
Arbutus bark and leaves have medicinal purposes and are used for colds, stomach problems and tuberculosis.

Bottom line is that it's a fascinating wood and so colorful: (this one has mostly shedded its red bark)

[srmoment]

....so, after all the wonderful input you gave me, this is what I did:

#1: Took out the ship and had to skew the left to try and get the horizon straight. This was much more difficult then expected.



#2: cropped severely, blurred around log/seashells, desaturated slightly and added a light vignette.



#3: was a complete headache!!! cropped severely, removed left logs and added a slight vignette. I am not completely happy with this and might see if I can retake it, framing the lighthouse better.

Thanks again for all of your help!



Pat

[pontiac1940]

Pat,
That's awesome that you did all three again.
Being the stubborn cuss that I am, I am sticking with #1. It is a complete scene with complementary parts none of which overpower the scene as a whole. 
That's a nice photo op you have. 
Clive 
    

[BuckSkin]

I still stick with #3

In my honest humble unqualified opinion, #3 would be most impressive without the seashells as, to my poorly trained eye, they just look out of place for the rest of the scene.

It is cool that someone went to all that trouble and photos of them from various angles are cool; however, #3 would be calendar material if the shells were not there.

I just think it is cool that you have done all this and involved us as well.

I would love to see that as it was meant to be seen; but, like most sailors, I am terrified of water and can't swim a lick; so, I would most definitely want my viewing to be from the quarterdeck and not hanging from some wind-blown spar.

I have been trying to remember whether I have ever actually seen a genuine lighthouse with my own eyes; I have seen plenty of fake ones here many hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean; sad to say, most of those are expensive eyesores.

[srmoment]

Thanks Clive. ....and BuckSkin, ahahahah.......I could try to swing the log to the left, but it's pretty water-logged and somewhat heavy, so unless Godzilla is in the vicinity it stays where it is........but wait!!! I understand we had two pretty noisy earthquakes this morning, so perhaps it has moved, or alternatively, one of our really high tides might do the job. As for the seashells, I could knock them into the sand where they really are part of the scenery, but if it was the lighthouse staff who put them on the log, I might be banned for life. I'll sign off now with that vision of you hanging from some wind-blown spar. omg...your comments are great.....

[PeteB]

Sorry I am a little late to this party… So, when I looked at your images, my first thought was to identify the main subject. For me the subject is the lighthouse. I feel that the sea shells in images 1 & 2 compete for attention with the lighthouse. For me, image 3 works the best. In number three, the tree trunk with the shells act as a leading  line, and the cut off branches act as a frame (for the lighthouse). Image 3 also reminds me of what author/photographer Bryan Peterson calls a "storytelling image". It has a beginning, a middle and an end.