I Can See The Light….
Started thinking about the summer and what it brings each morning while on vacation, the 59th Street Pier will surely be on the agenda.
Not So Rocky Start….
Unlike many of the Pacific Coast shots I see around the internet, this is about as rocky as we get here in New Jersey. I guess they don’t get quite the sunrises that we get here in the east coast. Oh, the grass isn’t always greener…right?
This is an old fashioned blended shot processed in Elements 10, no HDR, just masking in areas from three separate exposures to get the end result.
Still At It….
Yes I’m still trying to get my new computer squared away and I can say that it’s been quite frustrating….. Right now I’m having trouble with getting my shared printer to actually share. The 2 computers that are connected through wireless are showing that the printer is offline. Hmmmm.
In any event it has allowed me to go through some old folders and discover new photos. You may say this is not a new subject and it’s certainly not but I’ve never showed a perspective from here. I like it but am wondering if the shot would be better with the top of the pier was positioned above the horizon line? I don’t know maybe I’m too picky.
I have to apologize for my lack of commenting on your blogs. It’s that time of year, the craziness has begun and won’t have much time until June. I will be lurking and still checking out your photos but maybe not commenting as much. Again I apologize.
Then and Now…
Then
So I was going through some old shots and have always liked this shot so I decided to have a go at a redo….what do you think? It’s not that I didn’t like the original I just thought a new take on it might be interesting. New software also helps with a fresh look. So never trash those old shots, you never know what you can do to an old favorite.
Now
Another Archive Find…
I don’t know how I didn’t see this one. They seem to just keep getting better.
Have you been in your archives lately? Also do you delete questionable shots right away? Just wondering…..
Back to an Old Favorite…
If you visit my blog enough you’ve heard me say that the 59th Street Pier is truly one of my favorite subjects to photograph. It really does have quite a different feel each time I visit and this day was no exception. The lighting and this duotone effect is just perfect for this particular day.
I’m in the process of researching components for a new desktop and if any of my readers have any suggestions I’ll gladly listen. My main goal is to optimize my new computer to allow less waiting time mainly in Lightroom and other editing programs. I’m also unsure as to which processor and video card to include in the system. Any of your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
365: High Key….
I decided to go with a modified High Key look for this and am fairly pleased with the outcome. Matt Kloskowski has a trio of high contrast presets on Lightroom Killer Tips free for download that I utilized and then tweaked a few sliders for this final look.
BTW, this is the beginning of the dunes that separate the beach from a look of the Barnegat Lighthouse from my previous post. Down beach you can see some of the vehicles that are allowed on this stretch of beach. Kind of reminds me of my younger days frequenting Daytona Beach in Florida.
365: Art…
I’ve posted this shot before but not as a “piece of art”.
I was going through my 59th Street Pier shots and really like many of them. I decided to utilize the Topaz Simplify plug-in to give this more of an art look. I modified the biz sum preset and also added a slight texture which I also like. I’m not quite satisfied with the balance of the scene, I can’t put my finger on it but something doesn’t look right. I don’t know, do you see it? Please comment if you have any thoughts. thanks and enjoy the rest of the weekend.
After playing a bit more I think this crop might provide better balance….yes, no?
The Waiting…
I took several shots from this spot and every minute or so I could see she was looking around as if she was waiting for someone. It wasn’t till I walked up to the dunes that I saw someone arrive, she seemed relieved. I wonder if she felt as though I was “creeping”(as my kids would say) while taking this picture?
NJ is Under Water…
Just a few shots of the preparation and water from Irene. Many parts of NJ are in bad shape. We got lucky!
Considering we got 11 inches of water, outside my house is not too bad.
The rest were taken this morning just to show that the Atlantic is still angry with Irene.
Daybreak in Blue…
…with a touch of red, orange and yellow.
The quiet ocean and deep blue skies made it quite serene this particular morning in Ocean City. I guess the sea will look much more ominous and become much more destructive over the next few days with Irene crashing the party. I wonder if it will do further damage to this wonderfully photogenic pier, my hope is that it doesn’t.
Just Another Boring Sunrise…
As you can see the sky was alive this morning in Ocean City. With a 30 second exposure you can obviously see the movement in the clouds but not enough to cover the lights of Atlantic City just above the jetty.
I was fortunate enough to meet another photographer by the name of Jeff and he and I were here every morning like clockwork. He was a nice guy and a pretty talented photographer. His version of this can be seen here. I really like his portrait version on this day.
The shot below was taken about 3/4 hour later as the sun made it’s way above the horizon, seems like a completely different day.
Not Too Bad For Day 2…
I passed this building each morning before getting to the pier and although not the most aesthetically pleasing I had to take a few brackets just because it was a perfect candidate for HDR. In the regular exposure the lights were blown out and the foreground had little to no details. Well tonemapping took care of that quite nicely. I know I can’t stay away from HDR but fear not…. 
In the next 2 shots very little was done in post so I consider them SOOC:) and it’s certainly not HDR, although I tried it with 9 bracketed shots but the results just weren’t what I was looking for. At this time of day I really like the angle of this first shot and got the bonus of a few shore birds to boot… 
If you’ve seen other shots of the 59th Street pier you know that this next shot is a common perspective and although in this series I’m trying to present the pier in as many different angles as possible sometimes you just have to go back to old faithful and allow the uniqueness of the day to present the subject in a different manner. I think the shot speaks for itself….
With quite a few shots “in the tin”, I consider day 2 a successful day.
I have other shots that I might post on Google+. You can join and check them out here. As always I’m looking to hear your thoughts and thank you again for looking and commenting.
Let the Challenge Begin…
I promised myself that I would capture 1 good shot a day of the 59th St. pier while vacationing in Ocean City. That meant getting up at 5am every morning with the intention of biking almost 40 blocks to the site. A lofty goal I might say. Well, my journey didn’t start out to well when I completed my test ride in 25 minutes. Much too long a bike ride at 5am. So plan B gets me there in 9 minutes with time to spare. I’m good to go.
Day 1 I wake up with no problem and I’m a bit excited as it’s relatively cloudy, could it be a good first day? Well…….I get to the site within 9 minutes and it’s still dark and it remained dark most of the morning as clouds filled the sky, not allowing more than an ounce of color for 99% of the morning. This was about as good as it got ……
Not exactly what I was looking for but it does fulfill my SOOC obligations. I managed to get the look of the water I was after with a 10 second exposure but the rest……pure cr….p!
It wasn’t until just before I was getting ready to leave that I managed a decent shot and even this had to be jazzed up with tonemapping….
Day 1 wraps up without a keeper in the tin (Peter Lik quote) but I have a whole week to look forward to, it can only get better right? Well………
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
Looking Forward to….
…our little vacation, close to home in Ocean City, New Jersey. I know Gisele gave you a little preview from here a few weeks ago but I’m planning to take a ride on my bike every morning to this spot, the 59th street pier and show you the sunrise….Jersey style. Now there are quite a few other things to see around here so I’m hoping to have many shots to put on showcase for ya’ll….as they say.
I don’t anticipate the pier to be quite so desolate as this, as this was taken back in early March with very few people around. Although it is summer but I don’t think too many people will be up at 5:00am when I plan to arrive.
Anyway, we just got back from 3 softball games today with my youngest daughter and I’m happy to say no one got heat exhaustion even with it being 106 on the field. The girls played well and now it’s time to swim at grandma’s………AHHHHHHHH!
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…
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
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!
Sidelight Experiment…
Light is everything when it comes to photography(like you haven’t heard that before). But side lighting can turn a rather mundane scene(like this shot) into something quite dramatic. I really like how the highlights of the wave contrast directly with the darks of the rocks. So whenever possible try to take into account the direction of the light.
Couple this lighting with a strong B+W conversion and you you get even more drama. Do you agree?
I’m really excited about the possibilities with Silver Efex Pro. Give it a try!
