How I did it - This photo was shot in San Pedro, Belize, last year. I found this shot to be calming and I like how the shadows, from the palm trees, appear in the sand. I removed the outlet and wires from the bottom of the left palm. Also remove a few palms to the right, that appeared to be floating in mid air. Adjusted hue and contrast. I left the palm trees and the sofa dark for a silhouette appearance.

COMMENTS:
 

Stan Ashbrook	This is a nice tranquil scene. You should straighten the horizon.
Allen Gannaway	Palm trees and sailboats, two of my favorites. Making the horizon level wold also help the structure on the dock, which appears to be leaning just a little.
Bob Elliot
Ron Alexander	The shot could not fit the title any better. What really sets this beach shot apart is the shade, in itself a synonym for tranquility in a sunlight beach. Excellent composition. Maybe the shot would be even better if a human head appeared above the sofa rim. But where is Brad Pitt when you need him?
Lynne Royce	I just want to walk over and sink into the sofa and feel the breeze and view the startling blue of the ocean. Like how the sofa is off-center and beautifully framed by the two palm trees. My only suggestion is to try to lighten and bring out the texture of the sofa.
Don von Wolffradt	Great image! That darn horizon line needs to made level. I would suggest cropping the foreground just enough to get rid of most of the bright foreground sand – maybe halfway to the palm tree trunk on the left side.

Member Bio

Monica Woodhead - Biography   I am a Customer Solutions Rep for a company that manufactures vapor retarders and various tapes for the construction, industrial, electronics, automotive and medical fields. I also maintain the website and create brochures for them. The majority of the photos used in our brochures, I have shot. I am married for 24 years, with a daughter and a son. I have had a love for photography since I was a young girl, driving my mother crazy with all the pictures I took. Back in those days it was a Kodak Instamatic. In 1984, I began using an Olympus manual SLC. After a few classes, I started to understand how to use it. In the early 90’s, I was given the Nikon 6006 as a gift. Moving into digital, I began with the Nikon D100. It took me almost a year to completely give up the film camera. I now use the Nikon D300 with various lenses, loving every minute of it. This year I have had to give up my last film camera, a Nikonos V. After 24 years, while diving in Aruba, it died. Before our next trip to Aruba, I hope to have a digital underwater camera. As a photographer, I consider myself to be an amateur with so much more to learn. I began using Photoshop about 4 years ago. Today I’m using Photoshop CS2. My printer is the Canon i9900.