Greg Molyneux Photography

New Jersey landscape and nature photography

As close as I’ll get to painting

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An evening HDR photograph of a winding waterway adjacent to Dock Road in West Creek, NJ. The blue tone picture features a small beach opening between long marsh grasses with a looming bank across the calm water.

As close as I’ll get to painting — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

Some buddies were over last night and as we were scheming on a sunset locale, we (thanks, Jeff!) settled upon the other Dock Road in West Creek, New Jersey. Whether you go by Tips Dock Road, Dock Road II or West Creek Dock Road—we’ve got two of them in southern Ocean County and both are excellent for photographers, nature lovers and shore birds alike; not to mention all the good folks who live out there.

As we were poking around waiting for the clouds to part (never happened) we happened on a new shooting spot (thanks again, Jeff!). A small section of beach—no wider than 10 feet—placed neatly and discretely between the ever lengthening marsh grass. Anyone got a name for that stuff? With the moody blue tones and low deck of undulating clouds I had a feeling I could salvage the sunset that wasn’t. But what I got was much more painterly than I either hoped or planned for. The lazy shutter of my multiple brackets brought enough movement in the grasses to bring an element of brush stroke into the frame. As someone who struggled mightily with painting in high school (I was a pencil and paper guy), I always held the masters of brush in the highest regard. It’s a skill I just don’t have the touch to match.

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Photos from the archives

An HDR photograph taken over a windswept marsh on a cold winter's day at sunset along Cedar Run Dock Road. The photograph features a soft diffuse light.
HDR landscape photograph of dramatic clouds and pastel colors at sunset
14mm wide angle landscape photo made low key at blue hour. Soft pastels color up the sky above an oxbow lake feature of the Cedar Run Dock Road salt marsh.
An HDR photograph taken at the end of Cedar Run Dock Road overlooking the bay to the south taken just after sunset.
An overhead top down macro photograph of a cleome center just as the flower prepares to bud. The cross processed purple hues lend a calming effect to the imagery.