365: Restful…
A great spot in Manasquan, New Jersey. On this morning it was so calm that I could have spent an hour or two just hanging around to watch the different cloud formations. This spot in the warmer months would be impossible to shoot brackets due to the boat traffic in and out of the marinas. Nonetheless, I spend quite a bit of time here in the winter months. Hope it makes you a bit more restful after viewing.
365: Faceless Portraits…
Can’t get enough of these B+W’s. Just love the look of them.
Looking back on this shot I wish I would have moved to the left a bit more to minimize distortion from the wide angle lens. As it is I had to go into Elements and use the free transform tool to push some pixels to the right.
Single shot from my Canon XTI and Sigma 10-20 mm lens converted to B+W in Lightroom
You Can Just Tell…
… when the lighting is just perfect. Yes and it made this shot perfect for B+W as the late day sun was much too warm to give a real good look to this shot in color. Again, I think it’s a matter of personal preference but the high contrast does it for me.
Single shot captured with my Canon XTI and Sigma 10-20mm converted to B+W in Lightroom
Hey Dad….
….you sure you know what your doing? Couldn’t help but post this shot from a few months ago……kids face, priceless.
Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!
I’m Flying Solo, I’m Flying Solo…
Shortly after shooting my last post I came across this boogie board, did a little rearranging of the subject and snapped off a few brackets. After running some of the brackets through photomatix and not being too impressed with the results I decided to export to Elements and mask in some of my favorite parts of each shot. I then finished it off in Lightroom.
Patti made a comment on one of my last posts about single exposure shots and it got me thinking about trying to focus a bit more on singular shots instead of blended or tone mapped photos. Well, I’m going to try and go back to basics, now I don’t know if this post will conform since I blended a few images, but it’s a start.
PS: This may be hard to accomplish now that I just viewed a HDR webcast with RC and Matt on Kelby Training website……. very informative and worthy of a look! It will be re-aired sometime over the next 2-3 days so look for it at www.kelbytraining.com/webcasts.
Single shot with my Canon XTI and Sigma 10-20mm and blended in Elements and finished in Lightroom.
Before the Storm…
…of people that is. You’ve seen this beach many times before but not quite from this perspective. This beach, in Manasquan New Jersey, is popular for surfers and beach goers alike. The inlet from many of my boat shots is right behind me.
I love what this crop does to this scene…
Single shot from my Canon XTI with Sigma 10-20 lens processed through Lightroom
Another Retro Look…
The lighting at the Manasquan Inlet was pretty bad the other day so I decided to process this one in Silver Efex Pro. I think it’s fitting for the subject matter + theme.
Snapshot Moment Froze Without A Sound….
No you can’t hear the roaring ocean in the background but I’ll tell you that these surfers showcased their skills well under the stormy conditions.
Anyone know the theme? Popular song in the eighties….hint, hint!
Processing: Topaz Simplify with Biz Sum preset and then added Lightroom Cream Tone preset finished with vignette.
Here’s to Waves…
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Just a few shots showing the height and power of the waves from the last noreaster….Amazing!
The Tale of Three…
When they arrived there weren’t many surfers braving the elements so they hung around presumably debating whether or not to tackle the conditions. After a few minutes they opted to put the boards aside and go get their skim boards. A safer bet is what I imagined they were thinking.
Shot Settings: Canon XTI and Tamron 17-50mm @ f11, 1/750 sec, iso 200 at 24mm.
What’s Behind the Silhouette…
I ventured down to the beach to see if last night’s noreaster was still having an effect on the waves in Manasquan. Wow…. it sure was! The wave sets, as I was told, were between 7-10 feet and just pounding the beach. This was about as menacing as I’ve ever seen it and it didn’t let up for the 3 hours I spent there.
I spoke to several surfers while I was there and got some great information about the mindset of a surfer in these conditions. Some guys jumped right in and others, like these 3 high school boys, were much more hesitant. Eventually all three of them went in and surfed a few large waves and I would say they performed pretty darn well given the tenacity of the waves. They got my respect!
Nautical…
Just a few feet from my last post, this shot still features the cloud cover of the morning and more of the fishing boats docked in the Manasquan River. I might have one more from my visit to finish the series, unless your bored with it already?
HDR from 3 brackets with dodging and burning in selected areas.
Shades Of Gray…
I love everything about this shot except one thing….. IMHO there’s no main subject.
My focus this day was to work on slow shutter speed photography. I wanted to turn the Atlantic Ocean water into something silky smooth. And with a 20 second exposure at f11 I was able to do that, nice …. I take that back, as I look at this shot further, I wish the water had a more dominant presence in the shot. So there are a few things I would like to change but not bad for the theme.
Isolation…
In reality this house is not exactly isolated but I felt that the B+W and crop gave it a distinct feeling of the only house on the water. What do you think… a wider perspective might help convey a better sense of isolation?
Little processing was needed to get this result…..Cropped initially, cloned out some electrical wires then converted to B+W in Lightroom and finally sent it to Topaz Adjust for some detail work and a little pop.
Another good morning…
Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and although I feel like I have a tryptophan hangover it should be a good day. I’ve posted a few shots from this spot before but like this angle as well. This is a 6 shot hdr processed in photomatix and then finished in lightroom. Have a great black Friday, hoping your not in the red.
Relaxing….
I’ve always enjoyed the beach as a place to relax, do some body boarding and watching my kids play, but since I’ve taken up photography I think I enjoy it even more during the early morning and late afternoon/evening. This shot is a perfect example of the quality of light that can present itself during these “off” hours. I find that I can really take in what mother nature presents and enjoy the calmness of the moment. Plus you just can’t get these great layers with the sun so high in the sky.
On the processing front, most of the minimal work went into obtaining a proper crop, adjusting the dark tones, and bumping the temperature to achieve a warmer overall tone. Oh, I almost forgot that I utilized the adjustment brush to reveal a few details in the sea gull.
Warmth…
Nothing implies warmth in photography more than reds and oranges. I managed to barely pull off this shot at this time of day with my Canon 50mm 1.8 set at 400 iso. I have to say this might be the best prime lens for the price in the industry. I think I paid $70 for this versatile glass and although it searches for a little while in low light it really produces a very usable result.
On another note, I would much rather have these warm nights ahead instead of the cold weather that’s on it’s way. I find that my enthusiasm for shooting diminishes quite a bit in the winter months in the northeast. There’s not much to shoot in the winter and although I’m close to the Atlantic Ocean who wants to shoot sunrises when it’s 25 degrees and windy? So, what do you look forward to shooting in the winter months, any ideas to spike my enthusiasm?
Open…
One of the many fishing vessels heading out to the open ocean at the Manasquan Inlet in New Jersey. What’s neat about this location is that just to the left of the breakwater is a popular surfing beach and to the right is a popular fishing spot, although many of the fisherman have to time their casts properly so as to not get tangled in all the props of boats coming into and out of the inlet. Always something to take pictures of here.
Psuedo HDR from one exposure of f2.8, 1/20 sec, iso 400 at 17mm
Strange…
Whenever I try to straighten the horizon it just doesn’t look right. I guess it just proves once again that the world is not flat. Let’s see what Ron has to say about that! I also tried to enlarge the sail boat on the horizon and that didn’t work either. Well I guess I’ll leave it as is.
Shot settings: HDR from 3 exposures with base at f5.6, 1/180 sec, 17mm and iso 100
Manasquan Morning…
Yesterdays post wasn’t a very good representation of the beauty that the Manasquan Inlet has to offer. Those man-made pilings, coupled with the “artistry”, definitely takes away from the beautiful views that one will encounter here from sunrise to sunset. And as I look back at my shots from yesterday it seems as though these pilings are present in most of my shots. Granted I thought they would be great for some HDR but not as the main subject. So, for today’s shot, I thought I would incorporate ( I had no other choice) them into the scene but minimize their presence.
My main processing thought to this scene was to minimize the presence of the pilings (if that’s possible) and draw attention to the sunrise. I did this by using the adjustment brush to clone out some of the “artistry” on the pilings and then adjusted the dark and shadow tones just enough to leave a slight amount of detail in those pilings. That seemed to take care of the foreground. I then focused on the sun by adding a graduated filter to the sky to add contrast and saturation and finished with a slight vignette. I hope this shows a little more of the beauty of the Manasquan Inlet.
Shot at f11, 1/180 sec, 200 iso and 17mm
Primary Colors…
Anyone who visits the Manasquan Inlet knows of the natural beauty it presents, the beach, the surf, the vast ocean and certainly the sunrises and sunsets. Apparently there are a few people who believe that it’s not enough and they need to add their own artistic touch to this beautiful shoreline.
I think it’s true that some graffiti can be considered art and these artists should be recognized, but, it has a time and a……….. well………. I’ll let you decide.
