[Rabid Penguin]

The fiancee and I randomly took an overnight trip to the Gold Coast yesterday. It was raining most of the time, but I managed to get up at dawn and get some decent shots, and here they are.

This one is actually from the previous afternoon. A huge storm front rolling in from the Pacific over Surfer's Paradise. This was taken from several kilometres away, at 70mm. I would have preferred to take it up close at 18mm, but unfortunately I can't instantaneously teleport .

#1



All the following were taken from a spit just south of Burleigh Head.

There was this guy there fishing, so I asked him if he minded if I got him in some shots, and he was fine with it.

#2


I used an on-camera flash with a softbox to highlight the fisherman and rocks. It was still a little dark, so I used the painting with light technique to bring out some more detail. The fisherman is a little blurry due to long exposure, but thankfully he sat quite still.


The following images are all HDR.

#3



#4



#5



#6



My lovely fiancee/assistant allowed me to take a picture of her. I used two off-camera flashes, key at 3 o'clock, fill at 10 o'clock (with camera at 12 o'clock). Again I used PWL to bring out more detail in the rocks and Jen's jacket. There's still some harsh shadow which i'm not happy with, but they couldn't be helped in the situation.

#7



I used PWL again for the remaining pictures to bring out the detail in the rocks. It's a really useful technique.

#8



#9



#10

[Keith Alan]

All are great, as usual.
I prefer simple compositions presented strongly, with effective use of light and texture--so these are right up my alley!

The first one is epic: Right Place Right Time Right Gear Right Eye.
Start looking for some contests to enter.

[guerito]

Wow, a wonderful series about the elements. I second Keith on the first one. Way to go!

[matthew]

All are excellent, but #1 and #2 really stand out for me.

[Wedding Shooter]

Strong set RP and great to see you have got your fiancee out to Australia.

The second one appeals a lot to me. I like the contrasting red of his clothing against the rocks and sea.

[wulinka]

I like both the composition and the color treatment of these, very nice!

might be tempted to crop about 1cm or so off the top of no. 1

In terms of colors I think 3 and 4 are my favorites, although they are all nice. I love the texture of the water in no. 3!

Uli

[Toad]

Wow!! Wonderful shots - love the atmosphere.

#5 and #6 are a bit over-processed I feel - but a wonderful series throughout.

[Irma]

Beautiful series RP...

#1 and #2 are great. I would have loved to see you too in the picture of your fiancee...

[Rabid Penguin]

Okay, some edits.

I cropped the first one as Wulinka suggested, and I like it better.




And also, Toad, you were right, 5 & 6 were overprocessed, so I redid them.

With #5 this time, I just worked from one of the original RAW's instead of creating an HDR. I think this looks a lot more natural and better.



And with #6 I took a bit more care with PWL, and eliminated the diffuse glow.




I also cropped out the straighten edge thing on #7, but I don't think it's worth replacing it here.

[Toad]

Yes - that processing looks better to me on 5 and 6. Great work. Personally, I like #1 with all the dark cloud - it makes me feel much more ominous than with the new crop - but tastes vary...

[Rabid Penguin]

Two (well one, really) more from the series that I wasn't originally going to use, but then I changed my mind.


#11




#12