Beautiful light with complementary colours in the shingle.

I like the sharpness of the pebbles - and the blue is impressive.

Please DJ...bring us something NEW!

^^ The blue is impressive? I respect the photo's on chromasia. Many of them are absolutely amazing. However, I think too many people who view this site give you too much credit for simply mediocre shots.

I know Dj can do better than this and saying things like "the blue is impressive" isn't going to push him to perform at his best. I come to chromasia everyday to see the next best photo on the internet, but the last couple of days haven't shown me anything special; yet I still see the same comments??

Let's get real here...it's a damn sky. There is nothing impressive about the blue or the sharpness of the pebbles. It's a beach shot, nothing more, nothing less. What's impressive is what DJN is capable of...and I want him to turn his capabilities into reality!

You must be praising the weather gods for your shots at the moment Dave? :) By the way, hope you got my email. Not rushing you to reply by any means - just wanted to let you know i'd sent one, and hope you picked it up ;)

I much prefer this shot to yesterdays!
The detail is amazing, the colours seem to work better but I kinda agree with Kevin well partly anyway. I don't think this shot is mediocre nor others but I do think that some shots may not be to some peoples liking!

I have noticed that you start experimenting every now and again, try and find new angles for your photography and then fall back into your comfort zone.

This is a photoblog website, if people want to see your best shots they should just use your portfolio.
I do wonder whether the pictures that your choose have some sort of a reflection on your moods.

On the weather matter, I'm finding it hard to be inspired by it!
But I think i'm going to try and adapt, see if there's some good in all this bleakness.

Anyway I look forward to seeing what you will come up with next.

great stuff as always!

great scenery, its always amazing how you can make scenes look good but when I take them, it just looks plain.

Well I like the combination of the rich timber colours in the foreground with the deeper blues in the sky. Also the detail of the natural shapes of the pebbles in the foreground contrasting with the rigid structural details of the pier in the middle distance.

I think people are often a little TOO critical of chromasia. When you're telling someone that there's nothing impressive about the sky, you've gone just a little too far. ;)

It is a fantastic scenary. Good colours.

^^

It's impressive for a standard photoblog...not a photoblog featured in Time magazine. Am I right?

I love Chromasia and I am hardly EVER critical of his photos. Nearly every single comment I make says "beautiful shot, fantastic shot, i love this photo", etc. My comment was simply saying that the latest beach series is almost like its back to basics for Chromasia instead of DJ taking his photography to another level. I know that it's very difficult to make incredible shots consistantly but I don't want Chromasia to fall into the realm of mediocrity.

In conclusion, this is a fantastic shot....for a standard photoblog...this isn't a fantastic shot from a Chromasia standpoint; thats all I was getting at.

Nice shot. The colours and the contrast is beautiful

kevin, I second your comments, while I have been viewing chromasia for awhile I think this and the last shots are bland and to be quite honest boring. yeah the color everyone says but chose the right time of day and it's just there (the color that is)... Which david, you have done very well in chosing to take the photo.. I would like to see more challenging subjects to be honest!!

Lighten up some of you! The guy has a young family and goodness knows what other pressures. I only wish my best were as good as DJ's so called mediocre ones! Love the site and find it most inspiring.

Kevin/Justin: even if I were to devote myself full-time to chromasia (I wish ;-)) I doubt I'd shoot challenging material/subjects all the time. I guess photoblogging/photography is like anything else – sometimes you feel like pushing yourself, and it's a good thing, whereas at other times it's more pleasurable to take things a little easier. What I can say in relation to this shot, is that I would have taken this photograph anyway. Photographing my local area, and capturing its beauty in a reasonably standard way, is one of my ongoing projects ... of which this shot is an example.

I guess it is a conundrum for a prolific photographer as to whether to work towards assembling a tight portfolio of excellent shots or whether to set themselves the challenge of putting up a shot every day of the year, with the inevitable consequence of occasional mediocrity. Personally I don't possess the drive to do the latter and I will often view your daily photograph with the expectation of the former and judge it unfairly. I need to be thinking that a large collection such as yours should be viewed as an entity in itself and measuring each photograph against the highest bar is pointless. If I am honest I would prefer to view less prolific exhibition/portfolio based work than a daily blog, but what I do get out of your site are quite a few real examples of a lateral approach to photographing everyday scenes/objects. In my mind that is a far harder task than going to Nepal and coming back with amazing shots.
I'm not a great fan of photoblogging in general as I’d prefer to see consistently excellent photographs (a hangover from my previous life as a picture editor), just as I'd prefer to read a well crafted novel than sift through acres of page-filling blurb in newspapers. The standards of many photoblogs are really quite poor in my opinion; although this wouldn’t necessarily matter if it weren’t for these deluded people constantly seeking praise from their new-found global audience. You are most certainly not in this category I hasten to add, and as such this is the only photoblog I visit regularly. I wonder if subconsciously photoblogging dilutes the richness and significance of photography by swamping us with images of everything and anything in order to meet a self-imposed rigorous daily timetable; forcing us to sift through so many bad examples to find the gems and thereby losing some of the magic along the way. Would Michael Angelo’s David be as beautiful if it were surrounded by 200 failed attempts? Maybe for some, perhaps not for me – although it would make a good photograph!

How many photo sites do you guys know that constantly push the limits or post incredible photos on a daily (or weekly for that matter) basis?
If you do, please name one.
At the end of the day, what's important is the average quality of the pictures over the months. And in this respect, there are not so many sites that can come close to chromasia methinks.
Nice shot Dave.

Lex: for me, chromasia is as much about process as it is about the end result, and that's why I think photoblogs are worthwhile – they're a document of a daily (or weekly) journey, not just a repository of portfolio worthy shots. So yes, the net result is that some shots are less worthy of attention than others, but they're significant when viewed as a part of the project as a whole. In other words, while a portfolio can tell a story through phtographs a photoblog also tells the story of how those photographs came into being. I'm sure I could have put that better, but hopefully you'll get the general drift.

i personally love this image, it's VERY chromasia... and thats why we come here no?

looking at this blog daily does give me a good idea of where you are as a photographer, looking back a few years you can see immediately the great leaps you have made. to me thats the whole point of doing this photoblog thing... i am more movitated to go out and shoot then ever. feedback is great, but the process you go though in your head when you shoot, process and post images is much like an athlete repeats the same exercises over and over again. this is simply the way to become a better photographer... and it the reason i have my own photoblog.

Dave, I do take your point and if there is a genuine process involved then you're right, it is of interest. You imply that some images may be carried by others or indeed the whole as part of the process; I wonder if you would extend that to infer that your 'best' chromasia photographs are also integrally linked to this photoblog and that you would be compromised by displaying them in another context?
I understand this is for comments and isn't an interview platform so please forgive the probing.

I like the two horizontal colours that compliment one another, makes the eye dance, one over the other. I also onow have context for one of your previous posts.

Pierre I can name two sites that constantly push the boundaries. They are as follows:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebba/ - a different approach

and

www.durhamtownship.com - great subjects, lovely use of light

To back Kevin and I think to an extent Dave would agree, I don't feel that these have been his best shots and no, on the whole, the recent images have not engaged me. What I will say is that every photographer can bring something to my work and I still visit Dave's site. I do yearn for a little more. Confining yourself to just a few sites is never healthy anyway. So, yes, Kevin makes a valid point, one I belive Dave man enough to take on board. Upon saying this, I also understand that we are sometimes under the weather, under inspired or have little time. It doesn't change an opinion and I feel it takes strength of character to actually put something out there in the public forum for subsequent critiscm...

Lex: I've had a similar conversation to this one with John Washington; i.e. how our photography relates to our photoblogs, particularly in terms of the weaker images that we put up, and my own view is that chromasia is a number of things. First, it's a story; the daily tale of the photographs I've taken, what I think of them, why they're good, or not so good, and so on. In this sense it's a coherent whole – the good alongside the mediocre. Second, and obviously, it's a collection of photographs, structured using a MySQL database, and presented in a particular sequence using Movable Type.

So yes, my best shots are linked to this photoblog – they're a part of that story – but they wouldn't be compromised if I chose to display them in another context.

tobias: no, they're not my best work, but a) I'm not too bothered about that, and b) don't have only one yardstick against which I measure my shots anyway.

I think some of the angst in the comments above is because for a moment - a few posts ago -it seemed you were stepping out through another artistic door but instead quickly stepped back into your comfort zone. Go ahead make the leap! We're with you.

Hmmm...I normally comment very little...But sure I do visit CHromasia often...more than anything for a bit of inspiration....and I surely agree with Kevin and Tobias...

Although I cannot get to even your so called "mediocrity" level....I will still say it....last few shots have not really made an impact (I know you are not bothered too much, as you are doing what you feel is right- and thats the right way to go).
Some of your shots in recent past suggested (and you said it in one of your comments) that you are shifting gears...But has not come thru..

I know its probably just the circulstances that may not have allowed you to venture into something new...

I think people like Kevin just say something controverial to get traffic on their sites. I liked this photo. I dont comment on every chromasia photo I see and this was just one that I liked so I will not apologise for my simple comment.

quite simply a beautiful shot, Dave. comfort zone or not, I like your photography and it makes me smile to see it. Your interpretations, even on very simple shots, are inspiring.

This is a great shot indeed and it is not mediocre in any way.

To me it is a great observation of similarity of form in two objects and and for that reason alone it displays great observation on the photographers part.

Well done Dave.

As a non-photographer I find it hard to understand some comments made on your site. I have just browsed back through your last months pictures and reminded myself of how amazing I find them. Surely mine (and the comments of other non-professionals) are just as worthy, even if they are uneducated. Not only do I like and admire your photos, but I do your photoblog, as a whole. I take great pleasure in checking your site every day and seeing your next picture, no matter of what quality. Even though I never comment I am here. Thank you very much.

Thanks everyone.

"I think people like Kevin just say something controverial to get traffic on their sites. I liked this photo. I dont comment on every chromasia photo I see and this was just one that I liked so I will not apologise for my simple comment."

I think you'll find Michael people like myself and Kevin leave comments such as this, not to be "controversial" but because we are passionate about photography. Where else do you think we draw our opinions from? "Telly tubbies". It is more risk to criticise than to assimilate oneself. I heavily invest in all aspects of photography, I'm not a point and shoot. Click and hope. I draw conclusions from my own experience, personal expectation and challenges. Whether you are new to photography or otherwise, this is a "blog" where I feel people are encouraged to engage one another. If you would like to put forward a constructive argument to counter that of mine, well.... fill your boots!

Dave, I think you've got some great shots but it's even better that you can have so many people comment on your photos.. It's good for discussion and it's great for you as a photographer to evolve your passion...

I don't think people like myself, kevin or tobias say “controversial” comments to get traffic. That utter BULLSHIT... we say it because we are passionate about photography like tobias comments and we like to see other photographers push themselves and comments as such help this process...

Dave, keep up the great work and I enjoy the daily does you give me!!

Pierre, and here is another that pushes the boundries...

http://www.travisruse.com/

I like the sharpness, color and composition of this shot. I really enjoy the repetition of shapeswith the pier in the background and the wood in the foreground as well as the shape of the beach in relation to the shape of the mountains in the background.

I didn't read ALL of the comments from above (I don't have that much time)...but this is a very 'chromasia' shot...but I like that.

I think this is a most groovy pic.