Big Sur Beach
Midday landscapes can work but often they lack drama because of the flat light and deep shadows. Early morning or late afternoon cross light has a much narrower contrast range, this allows the image to keep both the shadow and highlight details.
The midday landscape presented here has overcome most of the issues associated with flat light. There is good detail in the foreground hillside with the flowers and the middle ground has the wonderful colors of this Pacific bay, a color not often seen along the California cost. The photographer’s selection of the extreme vertical format creates additional interest to the scene.
There are a couple of suggestions I would like to make. I know this is almost imperceptible but the horizon of the ocean in the distance is not quite horizontal. It’s something I always look for in a seascape. The second recommendation I would like to make is the light to dark contrast is weighted a little too much to the dark side, by working with the levels curve this can be altered a little. This will not bring out the shadows in the trees which were lost due to the midday contrast but it will brighten up the foreground and beach slightly. At the same time the rocks in the distance could use a 20% dodge to bring out a little more detail.
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