Took this picture off the Oceanside (CA) Pier. Zoom was at full telephoto, and I had a 2.4x teleconverter attached. Focus isn't real sharp, but its the best action shot I got. I thought I'd be able to work a little better with the image, but some issues, particularly sharpness, gave me some trouble. I hope I didn't oversharpen, but I wanted to make the surfer stand out and give a little depth to the water splashes and foam.
Post processing: used curves to adjust levels (using the Levels dialog caused too much shadowing in the face area), tweeked the cyan a bit with Selective color, saved and ran through NeatImage, primarily for sharpening, then loaded back in PS and resized & resharpened.
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 79 Avg (all users): 7.5405 Avg (commenters): 8.8000 Avg (participants): 7.4340 Avg (non-participants): 7.6000 Views since voting: 6411 Votes: 148 Comments: 50 Favorites: 6 (view)
Had to leave another comment here. This is an impressive image becaise of its clarity and then the capture of the critical moment of fun distress. Good wotk.
I have never known neat image for it's sharpness...for it's softening yes---but you pulled it off. I would not say that you oversharpened. Having taken photos like this--off that same pier even I would say you did an amazing job.
Well worth your win!
Wow! Great job Scott. Congrats on your first ribbon. When I get down on myself and start thinking that my A70 isn't good enough to compete here, I'll come back to this shot and the rest of your portfolio for inspiration.
Awesome, and with an A40 too! There's me expecting a 10D with a big-ass zoom strapped to the front.
A reluctant well done 'cos I'm still jealous of how close you got ; )
nice action shot - i like the timing of his move so that he's facing down. I don't see alot of surf shots...but I don't remember seeing one with the surfer "posed" like that - kudos for originality imo.
Cool, nice job getting closer to the action. I wish I could see more of the guys face, and that he was more at the peak of the action rather then being what looks at like the end of it. I like the redness of his shorts which draws your eye to him rather then anything else. I think cropping some off the top might have given it a little higher look because the water behind him looks flat.
What a great shot - absolutely love the collors and the focus could not be better. I can't think of a single thing I could suggest to improve this - good luck in the challenge!
*Very* nice capture. You know exactly where he's gonna be in half a seconds time : )
I tried shooting surfers on holiday last week but even stood knee deep in the see I couldn't get close enough to get a shot like this. I'm jealous. A reluctant 10 ; )
The sharpness is really what makes this stand out. It's very clear, the capture of action is superb, and the composition works well. He's in a position where it also makes you wonder if he's going to take a nosedive into the water at any second. It tells a story but also makes you want to know what happened next. Something that a sports shot in a newspaper/magazine would encourage people to read in an accompanying article. Very nicely shot.
Off The Lip
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
