Greg Molyneux Photography

Category: Blog

Greg Molyneux’s latest photographs and words presented in reverse chronological order.

  • Welcome to Makers Fest

    Welcome to Makers Fest

    A silhouette self-portrait of Greg Molyneux watching a late Fall sunrise
    What lies beyond — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/6

    Heads up, New Jersey. Event incoming. Sure it’s some 9 months away, but I’m beyond pleased to share with you that I’ll be a small part of a great big event at Manahawkin Lake on September 17, 2016. The 2nd annual Makers Festival will be unleashed upon the world, and I’ll be there peddling my wares. If you managed to attend last year’s event you know firsthand the fantastic production that is Makers Fest. But if you’re looking for more insight, you should absolutely check out their website, Facebook page, and Instagram account. Their follow comes with the highest recommendation.

    As part of their highly organized and ardently purposeful marketing efforts all 2016 vendors were asked to provide answers to some or all of the following interview questions. Considering I’ve got this here website I thought why not blog out my answers here? So here goes:

    Makers Fest Asks:

    What is one thing you would like the public to know about your business?

    I’m very new to the whole business aspect of this venture, so really I’d just want the people to know that I’ve recently launched my online SmugMug shop. It’s currently a work in progress, and I still plan on servicing requests for custom framed pieces, but the online shop is the place to go for quick and easy ordering, printing, and shipping of my work.

    Where do you see yourself and your craft 5 years from now?

    Obviously I want to continue to learn, grow, and improve in as many aspects of photography as possible; continually honing my workflow, strengthening my portfolio, and better representing the underrepresented beauty of New Jersey—with a particular focus on coastal and southern areas. Beyond that, I’d love to experiment with shooting film, creating video and time lapse productions, and becoming an evangelist of sorts for all this wonderful nature surrounding my home town of Manahawkin and the broader LBI region. In a perfect world I could merge my skill of public speaking with my passion for photography in a union that would bring knowledge, connection, and learning to any audience willing to listen.

    Is your business a hobby, full-time work, or both?

    Considering I’m now selling work it’s going to be tough to make my case as this being just a hobby, though that’s still how I parse it out in my own head. I work full time in a fulfilling career that is wholly separate from my photography. I think of my time behind the lens as a detachment from the day-to-day world that can even in the best of professions mire us all. While I’d love to someday have the good problem of making photographs as a singular profession, I don’t want this hobby to ever feel like work. I’d regret any attempt to monetize if the joy was stripped away at the hands of aggressive, business-type demands that can erode the creative process. But that wouldn’t exactly be a #FirstWorldProblem I’d cry too much about.

    What would your advice be to others looking to start something similar?

    Shoot. Shoot. And shoot some more. Did I forget to say go shoot? Oh, and don’t worry too much about your gear. Starting out as a complete neophyte photographer in 2012 with zero expectations and little to no camera experience, I participated in a photo a day project that saw me end the year with over 25,000 photographs taken on a used, first generation Canon Digital Rebel—they didn’t even have model numbers back then. Throughout the process I had heard all about how you need to get through your first 10,000 pictures. That these would be your worst, and that this kind of spray and pray method to photography was essential for gaining the skill for making good photographs. In my case, it was true. By the middle of 2012, things started to click, and here are there I began creating images that actually looked like they were made by someone who almost had a clue. It was a good, albeit unexpected development and I haven’t looked back.

    So get out there. Do it every day. Photograph everything. Experiment with the different manual settings to see how these choices affect your final image. Celebrate your victories, learn from your losses, and reward yourself for hitting your goals—even if it’s committing to take a picture a day for a month. Most important: have fun. As soon as it feels like a chore it’s over. Oh, and if you think you want to be a landscape photographer do invest in a sturdy tripod—that’s one bit of gear you should prioritize.

    What is your favorite part about working in the creative field?

    Stress relief and bringing joy to others. It’s equal parts humbling and empowering to watch someone react positively to something you had a hand in creating. It makes all the ups and downs, all the effort, all the focus, and all those times you just want to throw in the towel worth it. It’s a gift to open up to others such that they too can share an experience.

    What do you think the most common misconception is about your craft?

    The belief that gear is everything. Now I’m not saying equipment doesn’t matter, or won’t bring some improvement to your photographs, but it’s not the panacea for great pictures, either. The greatest camera and lens combo in the world will not magically conjure great lighting conditions, or manifest interesting foreground to compose your frames for you. And considering these powerhouse devices we’ve got kicking around in our pockets, a great photograph is only a click away from your mobile device. I’m continually impressed with the photographs I can make right on my iPhone. So do yourself a favor: don’t let costly gear be a barrier to entry. The drain on your wallet can always come later.

    What inspires your work?

    A combination of wanting to show off our area for all its worth, and a competitive drive to be the very best I can be. When I see the magnificent work of others and the hair on the back of my neck stands up, I think to myself, that’s how I hope people respond to my work someday. That’s what drives me.

    Why did you choose to participate in The Makers Festival?

    First of all I love every single thing your organization is doing. Every. Single. Thing. Highlighting the undercurrent of local talent that has largely flown under the radar in a region that’s not exactly known for a happening art scene. It’s better yet that this is an organization run by women. I’m all about doing stuff outside the norm that breaks free of the tropes, perils, and frankly boredom of patriarchal paradigms. I can’t say enough how great it is to be part of something new and different. I’m honored and surprised to be selected among such a talented crew of artists, creators, and makers. You’re creating opportunity where there was none, and working to put the LBI region on the map for more than just its sunny beaches and seasonal watering holes.

    What motivates you in the face of adversity?

    I’d like to sit here and mash out words to suggest this is an area of strength and experience. Truthfully adversity and I have a mixed record, but I’m working hard to appreciate the necessary relationship with adversity, failure, and struggle recognizing they are key ingredients to any learning process. The most important takeaway? Sometimes the stress and discomfort will open new doors that were otherwise unseen. My own relationship with photography was born of such struggle.

    If you could choose any superpower, what would it be and why?

    Time travel. As a lover of history I’d be endlessly educated if I could travel to key places and points of time. If only to simply observe what actually happened. I wouldn’t want to change things and create some kind of paradox in the spacetime continuum, I’d just want to sit and observe first hand as a time traveling fly on the wall, able to better assess events as they actually happened such that I could measure them against narratives that have become for better or for worse ingrained in conventional wisdom.

  • Fade Out

    Fade Out

    Blue hour HDR photograph overlooking dune fence and calm bay water
    Fade Out — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    For those of you following my photos on the regular—thank you!—you know I like vibrant, contrasty colors for my landscapes. The more color the better. But in processing last night’s shot (today) I wanted to produce a kinder, gentler final image. A more subtle hand to photograph and capture the calm, soothing blues that crept out over Ship Bottom’s bay beach as the final fading moments of light packed up their things for the daily migration west.

    In spite of a promising cloud deck sunset never fully fired yesterday, and in this case I’m not even a trifle bit upset by that. After the world class light that’s been pumping in of late it was nice to take a breather to sit back and appreciate a true blue hour. This shot was made a good 25–30 minutes after full sundown, and coupled with the unseasonably mild temperatures (it’s cracked 70 the past two days across New Jersey) it was a real treat to make December photographs in short sleeves. Many rejuvenated revelers were out and about with their cameras, pets, and bicycles, while couples went walking hand-in-hand. It was just all so nice to see.

    Compositionally I’ll go as far as to say I did the best I could. Until I arrived I was forgetful of the fact that at this time of year, with the winter sun setting in the southwest, angles get a little tough on many of LBI’s westward exposures. Sunset Point in Ship Bottom is surely no different. With the Point itself completely out of the the picture, I made my way about 200 feet south along the bay beach and decided to make my final stand at this little section of dune fence. Forever fond of said dune fence from my days of yore maintaining the public spaces with Ship Bottom Public Works, it was this or just an open expense of heavily traveled beach sand. The fence seemed the better play.

  • Revisit

    Revisit

    HDR landscape photograph of sunset fading to blue hour over the salt marsh
    Revisit — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Familiarity sure is comforting. A place of positive past experience lends confidence if only in having been there before. I revisit spots constantly. More often than not trying to take a different angle to compose the frame in a new way so as to change the perspective—you know, so as not be completely repetitive. Subtle shifts in angle—side-to-side or up-and-down—coupled with a height change in camera body elevation relative to the ground can make all the difference in your final shot. This paired with ever changing cloudscapes and light play, and you’re likely seldom if ever to encounter identical shooting conditions even if you are one to revisit the friendly confines familiar ground.

    This was certainly me today. I’ve got a bunch of photographs made from this little spot of roadside—seen here, here, here, here, and here—and even still it’s always worth a retread. This creates an iterative anthology over time documenting how a place both does and does not change. For me, here on Cedar Run Dock Road, it drives home just how much the marsh does change as it cycles through the time, the season and the tide. It’s certainly brought me to a place of greater appreciation for the diverse environmental sensitivities in my own community.

    While the shot above is from a different spot entirely, its color cast reminds of a wintertime sunset I captured back in February of 2014. Very similar pink, yellow, and blue tones in these two pictures. Pretty cool to see that glow come back around. To spin off into a little bit of a tangent I may start making these kind of connections as part of my blogging; marrying current photographs with past shots where appropriate. It may help to better connect the narrative as I journey down the photographer’s path—what exactly that path is? I do not know.

  • I can still see clear but I dare not feel

    I can still see clear but I dare not feel

    Landscape HDR photograph of pastel color cirrus clouds at sunset
    I can still see clear but I dare not feel — 14mm | f/8 | ISO | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    I’ve been sitting on this photograph for a few hours now reluctant to process. With my mind getting the better of me these past two days I was keen to not turn this picture and its subsequent post into one giant window to my struggle. So I’ll just leave it here with the statement that I wasn’t occupying the best headspace out on the Dock Road marsh in spite of this beautiful sunset Mother Nature brought before me. Most always picture making lifts my spirit. Today I was tied down in chains.

    Frankly all credit for this shot goes to the fellas at SunsetWx. They nailed today’s forecast. Under a dome of clear skies and seasonally warm temperatures all day I put zero thought toward any kind of photography today. But then during another tedious experience watching football I saw this tweet roll through my stream and if nothing else was at least offered an escape from witnessing another Giants’ loss. Once again their model was right on the money.

    Compositionally I played it safe tonight, unabashedly borrowing the setup from Look Down On It. Chalk it up to moodiness, lack of inspiration, or the simple fact that I think well of the meandering run of water that carries the eye in a slight switchback up the middle of the photograph and out into the sky.

    Here’s to tomorrow.

  • Online Store Announcement—Prints Now Available for Purchase

    Online Store Announcement—Prints Now Available for Purchase

    A silhouette self-portrait of Greg Molyneux watching a late Fall sunrise
    What lies beyond — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/6

    Long Overdue

    Good evening everyone, welcome to December. A bit of housekeeping: despite being up and running for almost a year now I’m officially announcing my online SmugMug shop. Finally. Having had the opportunity to sell a few prints, get comfortable with the platform, and see the end result with my own eyes I think I’m ready to go public—fingers crossed—just in time for the holidays. So if you’re looking for gift ideas and you’re keen to share some artistic work with friends and family, please take a look. You’ll quickly notice I haven’t populated the shop with all my shots—some 226 photographs a the time of this post—so if there’s something you’d like to have printed and shipped drop me an e-mail at greg [dot] molyneux [at] gmail [dot] com, and I’ll have it added to the store page at my earliest convenience.

    At launch (that’s today) my store features about a couple dozen of my photographs available in an array of sizes and price points. You’ll find product options for Paper Prints with glossy, lustre, and metallic finishes. Or you can really step up the archival quality with Giclée watercolor paper. Additionally there’s an option under Wall Art for actual metal prints where you can have most of my photographs printed, mounted, and ready to hang directly onto a sheet of aluminum. This is the way to go if you’re looking for something a little less traditional and a little more modern where vibrant colors really pop. This is a great option for a bathroom where it will keep any kind of shower steam from wrinkling a more traditional, albeit vulnerable paper print. With its weatherproofed and scratch resistant surface it makes a great option for outdoor hanging as well.

    The Coupon

    Don’t miss out on this limited time launch offer. To help break the ice and ease the pain on the wallets and purses during the where did all my money go? part of the calendar, I’m offering a 20% off coupon valid through the end of the year—31 December 2015. Be sure to enter in coupon code: TheLaunch when prompted and 20% will be lifted like magic from your bill at check out—note the price break doesn’t go in effect until the very last step.

    Cheers. Thank you and Happy Holidays.

  • On Second Thought

    Square format landscape photograph of phragmites and Barnegat Bay at blue hour
    On Second Thought — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 0.6 sec

    Sometimes your shoot won’t go exactly as planned. This is OK. This afternoon my buddy Jon and I were hoping for some sunset drama. As it does the big time boom or bust sunsets ride a razor’s edge of yay or nay. Today it missed. It happens.

    Walking back to the car and at peace with said miss, my eyes quickly looked north to find sweeping blue clouds. Then downward to the illuminated houses out on the horizon; finally setting on the phragmites up in the foreground. The blue hour tones were soothing and the contour line of the jetty rock perfectly aligned with the left to right swoop up in the clouds. With a few clicks of the tripod this entire process was over and done with within a span of 20 seconds. Sometimes shots happen fast. At home in post processing I opted on the square format display ratio, deciding it tightened the overall composition.

    In their own way I hold a fondness for shoots like tonight. It’s a good test for the eye to come up with something else when your plan falls through. It’s a useful exercise in staying open to new possibilities, and as an added benefit the time crunch of fading light gets you to work fast relying on instinct.

  • Lines in the Pines

    Wide angle landscape photograph of the Pinelands forest casting leading lines shadows during golden hour
    Lines in the Pine — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 250 | EXP 1/30

    Before settling in to make yesterday’s sunset photo I took a few minutes in admiration of the Pinelands of Stafford Forge set aglow by some pretty serious golden hour light. It’s an open secret that I want more forest shots in my photo stockpile, and considering I live on the southeastern border of the great, albeit unheralded Pinelands National Reserve I have little excuse. Coincidentally the bulk of woods shots I’ve managed to produce have come from right here at the Forge, where I’ve already professed my childhood love of the trees.

    Keeping it casual—which is to say making single exposure handheld shots—I’m able to get my eye in tight to the viewfinder focusing my wandering brain right on the action. Creatively intent on accentuating the vivid golden glow infusing life, warmth, and energy into the millions of felled pine needles; compositionally intent to play off the strong leading lines cast by the scrubby pine tree shadows—the angled left to right action lending a nice touch of directional movement drawing the eye toward the ridgeline up on the right, away from the left side path. Much of photography is about balance, distributing the weight of your subjects until you find equilibrium. Of course like all the rules this too can be broken.

  • Sunset Weather

    Wide angle HDR landscape photograph of a pastel color sunset over a mirrored lake at Stafford Forge
    Sunset Weather — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Photographers: You Should Follow SunsetWx

    Information is good. Good information is better. Recently a significant offering was made to the information toolkit of sunset chasers plying their craft in the continental U.S.—or CONUS as you’ll see on their website. Little more than a week ago three meteorologists, inspired to pull together a ‘Sunset Model,’ unleashed maps output from a proprietary algorithm churning out regular reports to the general public based on data populated by the 4 km NAM weather model. In their own words factoring (emphasis my own):

    The model itself takes primary elements into account: Moisture, pressure, and cloud cover. Using our knowledge of the atmosphere, we started with a basic idea of what variables are important, and their relative importance to one another. . . We quickly realized that some things were more important than others, and decided on a weighting scheme. After many trial runs and verifications, we weighted moisture the most.

    Quick to buy in I didn’t even need to be shown proof of its accuracy, but after verifying sunsets the country over, including the two standout waves that hit the PHL-NYC corridor over the past two weeks, I was all in. So now when I see @sunset_wx tweets like the one below my sunset battle plan is armed with better, more scientific information than ever before; strengthening my decision making process on sunset spots to seek. Tonight, knowing the middle section of southern New Jersey was in the sweet spot, made choosing the western exposure of Stafford Forge the obvious choice.

    Sure enough the forecast verified with a solid to good sunset, let’s call it a B- and aligned with SunsetWx’s scale; and I, in turn, went home with some good exposures in the hopper to share with all of you. There’s no doubt I’ll be talking up the boon gifted to us by SunsetWx in the future, but for now you can find them on Facebook and Twitter. Slate’s already done a write-up. And as tweaks continue to hone their algorithm may we all someday benefit from a future ‘Sunrise Model’ soon?

  • Endless

    Wide angle landscape photograph of calm bay water and clear sky at blue hour
    Endless — 14mm | f/8 | ISO | EXP 1/60

    Immediately after I made yesterday’s sunset silhouette photograph I headed for the far east end of Cedar Run Dock Road. The benefits were two fold as it’s both a convenient vehicular turnaround and an ideal vantage point to look out on the whole of the bay. I’m glad I stopped.

    Sure it’s starting to cool down here in the northern mid-Atlantic but that doesn’t mean the outdoors can’t be the respite a weary soul requires, if only for a few moments. Immediately out of my car the sublime calm of the bay washed over me. Gentle rolling waves more at home in your bathtub floated along the water’s skin. The glow of the clear blue hour cast a scene so calming it took a few minutes before I broke from my trance to document the sight. First I made a quick video for Instagram. Then I figured I may as well bust out the tripod and pop off a shot. Here it is, in all its simplicity. One basic composition highlighting the still plainness of it all. No dramatic cloud structure; no definable foreground or feature. Only the peace in the nothingness that was somehow anything but.