Posts in Category: ocean
7/14/2009
Goat Island Light: Over Rose
Goat Island Light at Cape Porpoise ME is not as often photographed as Nubble Light or Portland Head, and, to be honest, it is not as photogenic. Still, it has its charms. For this shot, one of many taken on the first sunny day we had had in a month, I attempted to get the rose and the light equally sharp for an image with great depth. Program Shift put the aperture at F8 (smallest on the H50) and I used a bit of EV as well to keep as much detail in the white buildings as possible. I also backed off from the rose and used a moderate zoom setting (about 70mm equivalent). This put the rose in the zone of sharp focus while the light was still sharp as well. A few clouds in the sky would have made the perfect shot, but you can’t have everything (or I couldn’t on this day). To compensate I used a Graduated Filter effect in post processing to darken the sky and balance the image better.
Sony DSC H50 at about 70mm equivalent. F8.0 @ 1/320th @ ISO 100. Programed auto with -.3 EV exposure compensation.
In Lightroom, Recovery for the sky and white buildings, Fill Light to open the shadows, added Clarity and Vibrance and Landscape sharpen preset. As above, use a Graduated Filter effect from the top to darken the sky and balance the image better, and one from the bottom (while I had the dialog open) to add maximum snap to the foreground.
From Around Home, Kennebunk ME.
And as a bonus, the light up close. Taken from about the same spot, but at full telephoto.
Goat Head Light
7/11/2009
There used to be an island...
This is what remains of Strawberry Island. Folks still living remember picking strawberries out at the end of this remaining causeway, on the island that used to be there. Storms made the major changes, but compounded by unenlightened management of the shoreline north of here. Breakwaters. Beach creation. Sea walls. We interfered with the currents along the coast, and the island went away. In living memory. So, okay, we only triggered the huge power of the ocean…but it goes to show you…no one messes with the ocean without major consequences.
Enough of that.
The image itself: I have always liked the sinuous shape of the causeway reaching out to sea with no apparent termination. Given a clear day and the proper clouds to expand the horizon toward infinity and you get something like this.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F5.6 @ 1/800th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
In Lightroom, my usual added Clarity and Vibrance and Landscape sharpen preset. Recovery for the sky. Some Fill Light for the foreground.
7/10/2009
Abstract in Marsh Foam
Given the heavy and frequent (incessant) rains we have had this summer in Maine, it is not surprising that all the streams are running full and fast. They are also picking up a lot of sediment and organics along the way. This leads to some interesting foam where the water eddies, especially where the fresh water meets the salt and some interaction (possibly even of a chemical nature) takes place.
This was a huge patch of stream/sea foam along the shore where an unnamed tributary empties into the Mousam river, just yards from where the Mousam empties into the sea.
I was struck by the swirling patterns, and took several shots attempting to make something of them.
Sony DSC H50 at about 90mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/640 @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
In Lightroom, just added Vibrance, Clarity, and Landscape sharpen preset. I also increased the contrast to bring out the pattern more.
A second shot: which shows the variety of color and texture in the mass.
Marsh Foam Abstract 2
7/9/2009
Pointing Out The Boat
The boat and the boater caught my eye. Classic boat. I took more conventional shots, but this seemed like an opportunity too good go pass up. I had to hurry and just about missed it, since the boat was moving up river.
One of the advantages/disadvantages of a P&S with its small sensor size is the exaggerated depth of field. This shot makes good use of it. Taken at only f5.6, it still has enough depth for both the near roots and the far boatl.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F5.6 @ 1/640th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
In Lightroom, Recovery for the sky and clouds, blackpoint to the right, added Vibrance and Clarity, and Landscape sharpen preset. Finally, I used a graduated filter effect pulled down from the top to darken the sky further, and to increase contrast in the trees.
From Around Home, Kennebunk ME
And here is the boat:
6/27/2009
Off Cadillac's East Shoulder: Cranberry Isles and the Atlantic
On a good day on Cadillac the views in every direction are astounding. Though the clouds over the Atlantic were of a different kind and a different quality than those over the landmass, they are no less beautiful, and the Cranberry Isles, dotting the mid-ground before the Atlantic shades off into the horizon make for an interesting vista. This is another shot I have taken on every trip, and another shot that is never the same twice.
Sony DSC H50 at about 40mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
In Lightroom, Recovery for the sky and clouds, added Clarity and Vibrance and the Landscape sharpen preset. Because I wanted the foreground to pop, I used a graduated filter effect from the bottom up two thirds, and added Exposure, Clarity, and just a touch of Contrast.
6/26/2009
Off Cadillac's North Sholder (Frenchman's Bay)
Leaving Jordan Pond and the Bubbles behind for the moment, we make our way to the top of Cadillac Mountain, one of, if not the highest point on the East Coast (that is to say, directly overlooking the Atlantic). Reputed to be the point of first contact in the US for each sunrise. There is an excellent paved road to the top, and it has been a major tourist attraction for more than a century.
It is always dramatic, but there are still days when it looks like you can see forever, the clouds provide a sense of infinite depth, and the sea is deep blue to the horizon. This was not quite one of them. You can see, looking north here that there is a haze over the landscape…but still…those clouds, that sky. Who could resist?
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F5.6 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Cropped in Lightroom from both top and bottom to improve composition. Recovery for the sky (which also cut some of the haze). Some Fill Light to compensate. Blackpoint to the right. Added Clarity and Vibrance and Landscape sharpen preset.
6/14/2009
Marie Todd Emerging
A three masted schooner set up to carry tourists around Frenchman’s Bay, the Mary Todd here emerging from the morning fog.
Sony DSC H50 at about 70mm equivalent. F7.1 @ 1/2000th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
There was a lot of morning light caught in that fog, and it took all the Recovery I had available in Lightroom to pull it back to show the visual effect of the morning. Added Clarity and Vibrance, and Landscape sharpen preset.
From Bar Harbor 08.
6/3/2009
Big Sky over Sea Rocks (with house leaning in)
Seaweed covered rocks and tiny tide-pools on the point at the south end of Parson’s Beach, with just a bit of house leaning in (due to the wide angle lens, should I fix it??) under that same huge sky from yesterday.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F5.6 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
In Lightroom, Recovery for the sky, Fill light for the foreground. Added Clarity and Vibrance, and sharpen. I was still not happy with the seaweed. It was too dull. I pulled a Graduated filter up from the bottom and added Brightness, Clarity, and Contrast to make it a bit more interesting and balance the image.
From Around Home Kennebunk ME.
5/2/2009
Shell Brook
South of St. Augustine, the white Florida sand is mixed with crushed shells. The Atlantic is a much more vigorous shell crusher than the Gulf of Mexico. Where rock outcroppings occur, as here, the shells heap up and form interesting patterns. Streams. Brooks. Little oceans of shell.
Taken from beach level using the fold out LCD panel on the H50.
Sony DSC H50 at about 36mm equivalent. F8.0 @ 1/400th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Because of the range of light and dark here, I used a considerable amount of Fill Light in Lr. Standard Clarity and Vibrance for the H50, Landscape sharpen preset.
From St. Augustine FL.
4/26/2009
The Layered Sea
White sands along the cost of Florida, especially on the gulf side, make for a glass green sea, an emerald sea as they say up along the panhandle. I don’t associate with the Atlantic coast, but here in North Florida they certainly do have a green sea. The white sand here is not so pure, being mixed with a brown crushed shells, but it seems to get the job done.
Washington Oaks beach is steep, with weed covered rock outcroppings under the water and up the beach, so the effect is especially complex, as in this shot of the surf line. It creates a pseudo-abstract design in color and texture.
Sony DSC H50 at about 45mm equivalent. F5.6 @ 1/800 @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
In Lightroom, only my basic Vibrance and Clarity adjustments in the Presence panel, and Landscape sharpen preset. Cropped slightly at the top to narrow the band of blue sky.
From St. Augustine, FL.