Category: Blog

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

  • All I wanna be is by your side

    An HDR photograph taken at sunset from along the jetty at Sunset Point in Ship Bottom, New Jersey. The in water perspective hugs the darkened jetty rock and frames the colored sky and water.
    I’ll I wanna be is by your side — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Yesterday I had helping hands (thanks, Jennifer Carr!). I was able to take some chances.

    While heading over to Sunset Point for The Daily Sundown™ my hope was that the tide would be low enough to expose the bay sand on the lagoon side of the jetty rock (the right of the jetty in the shot above). #nope. The tide was already working its way back in. Temps were mild so I rolled up my jeans, hopped over the jetty rock, and made my way into the water where I had hoped said sand would be. The bay water was notably warm; summer’s coming, you guys.

    At first I was shooting handheld since I was water bound and there was no place for my tripod. Handheld is all well and good except it does not afford the tack sharp stability of a tripod. Nor does it allow me to bracket exposures as I most always do when shooting landscapes. Time to turn that on its head.

    About ten minutes in I turned to Jen, handed over my camera for safe keeping while she passed over the tripod in return. I took the device, splayed its legs wide, and began to sink it in the sand under about three inches of water. Once I was able to get a stable, level hold I reclaimed my camera from Jen and locked it into place. I let the sun get fully below the horizon and that’s when I went to town on my bracketing.

    In post processing I went with a darkened silhouette of the jetty instead of its much more illuminated brother. I’m all about mood and this version just seemed to have it. The tradeoff: the bright green moss is far less prominent in this rendition—only some faint hints of green brush the outer rocks. To its credit, this darker treatment really brings out the color festooned upon the calm waters.

  • Floating on

    A macro photograph of a several wisteria blossoms. The diffuse processing lends a soft dreamlike mood to the picture.
    Floating on — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/125

    I know. I’m going nuts with the wisteria photos. This one should be it. For this season anyway.

    I’ve come to appreciate my wisteria. It’s seasonal bloom makes the extensive maintenance of trimming (re: hacking) and shaping worth it. If you’ve never encountered a wisteria just know that left unattended its creepers will reach out and take over just about anything. You can work this aggressive expansion to your favor if you plan a setup accordingly, as seen here. With a little forethought it’s certainly all worthwhile. In the interest of full disclosure my wisteria is not set up accordingly. I’ve always been better at giving advice than taking advice.

    As for the picture, I’m drawn to the diffuse processing; reducing the clarity lends an ethereal feel to the finish product. As I look about the photograph my whole world slows down. I better appreciate the little things that while small simply hide in plain sight.

  • Homing in on Wisterias

    A cross processed, close cropped portrait orientation macro photograph of a single flowering wisteria bud.
    Homing in on Wisterias — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/250

    This photograph is a holdover from this past Sunday and represents a bit of a departure for me. It started as a standard landscape orientation macro shot that I wound up aggressively cropping and flipping to a portrait orientation. This is the first time I’ve ever done the latter and one of the very few times I’ve done the former (aside from going to a 16:9 for some landscape shots). But for me, homing in on this single flowering wisteria bud, as it readied to unfold, and eliminating the extraneous negative space was the right decision here. Perhaps I’ll look to explore more with cropping in the future.

  • Barnegat Bay dockside

    Barnegat Bay dockside

    A late evening HDR photograph taken just after sunset from Sunset Park in Surf City, New Jersey. The exposure looks out over a very calm Barnegat Bay and features the unfinished wood of the dock at the edge of the park with a small stone in the foreground.
    Barnegat Bay dockside — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Part of me thinks the stone in the foreground needs to be swapped out for a Corona bottle, no? I’m down for changing my whole latitude.

    Last night almost didn’t happen. After a Mother’s Day dinner of steak and ribs I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d muster up the energy to head out for sunset. Game of Thrones was fast approaching and the cloud setup wasn’t screaming drop everything and grab your camera. But once my buddy Jeff swung by and mentioned he wanted to head to the M.T. Burton Gallery to measure out our spot for an upcoming gallery event I figured I might as well grab my camera and be prepared.

    We stopped off at Sunset Park in Surf City and the first thing that jumped out at me was how glassy the bay was. Outside of lazy one inch rollers, Barnegat Bay was just about as calm as you’ll ever see it at sunset. There was still a problem, though: the tide was in and I wasn’t seeing much for a foreground.

    As I was grabbing my gear and walking under the gazebo I noticed a rock resting gently on the bayside bulkead and thought to myself, this just might work. And it did! And to top it off I was bestowed with great color in the evening sky. Last night was one of those nights the color really lingered, too. This exposure—which is the composite of seven bracketed exposures—was taken a good 10–15 minutes after sunset. As such, the sub horizon sun angle was still painting the sky in soothing pastels of orange and pink. What a great welcome to the inevitable coming of Summer.

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  • Wisteria when you’re near

    A macro photograph of a freshly bloomed wisteria flowering plant. The shallow depth of field and deep vignetting evoke a moody feel among the flowers.
    Wisteria when you’re near — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/640

    I made some time with my camera yesterday albeit it brief. A steady wind backed by strong gusts made for futile macro conditions. Or so I thought. Having just uploaded my shots into Lightroom I quickly saw there were some winners in the set—in fact there were several. Luck was on my side, I somehow managed to snag some interesting selective focus with a shallow depth of field as blossoms erratically moved about the frame. Sometimes you gotta just go with it, right?

    Bonus points if you get the lyrically inspired play on words in the title.

  • A demure magnolia named Jane

    A vibrant macro photograph of a single jane magnolia blossom with a shallow depth of field and selective focus on the pistils.
    A demure magnolia named Jane — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/640

    My side yard where the back meets the front features a fence gate, a forsythia, some tiger lillies and one modest Jane magnolia. It’s taken a beating in recent years—it simply has not responded well to its transplant two years back. After a complete bust of bloom last Spring my magnolia bush appears to be getting some of its strength back. While hardly covered with blossoms, there’s at least some quality bloomage to enjoy.

  • Watching the sky unfold

    An HDR photograph taken at sunset from Rand's on Great Bay Boulevard featuring an imposing cloud deck backing in off the ocean awash in pinks and purples from the just departed sun.
    Watching the sky unfold — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    It’s not my wish to distract too much attention from this photograph with words, but wow. Just when tonight’s sunset seemed it would fizzle a light show exploded upon the imposing cloud deck that was back-building off the ocean. I had an entirely different shot dialed in—one facing toward the setting sun. And as much as I liked said composition it became impossible to ignore the drama happening off to the south and east. Knowing I’d be short on light, I composed a frame from the same spot and began bracketing.

    Considering there was such a sky show, I’d have liked to be over the flat marsh without any obstruction, bringing all the focus to the intricate pastel washed cloud patterns. But I had to work with what I had. I’m still pretty pleased for working in a pinch, and I’m very pleased I was out shooting tonight and able to bear witness.

  • Putting your heart on the line

    A macro photograph of freshly blooming pink bleeding hearts. Still small and bunched together, this photograph is processed with a fine art film grain.
    Putting your heart on the line — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/250

    Or hearts if you’re a Time Lord.

    It’s a grey, sullen day here in New Jersey. Rain, wind, and cold decided to bring shades of Winter back into the fold with highs that have struggled to get out of the 40s. But hey, it’s May tomorrow, right? Right?

    This shot is a holdover from this past Saturday; today seems as good a day as any to post a reminder that Spring is in fact here—even if it doesn’t know it yet. Bleeding heart flowers are a real favorite of mine, and my yard, front and back, is appropriately fashioned with them. An early season bloomer, I’ve got both white and pink varieties. I captured their development just as the hearts are beginning to take shape descending down to their final position on what amounts to be a flora close line. As soon as the good weather returns I’m sure I’ll be photographing them in full bloom.

  • The Burned Lands

    An HDR photograph take just after sunset from the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area. The foreground is marked by the charred remains of a lone tree stump. Fresh grasses begin to fill in the ashen remains.
    The Burned Lands — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    While not like to evoke thoughts of General Sherman and his strategy of scorched earth, the charred remains of a solemn tree stump flanked by the onset of lush grass rising in the ashen remains of last month’s controlled burn make for a calming scene, particularly at sunset. Carefully planned fires are a way of life down here—in the quiet Pinelands of New Jersey—overgrown undergrowth and grasses are burned away allowing new, more healthy flora to take hold. And if it wasn’t purposeful humans setting the fires, nature and/or the careless ash of a cigarette butt would do the same—only more often; jeopardizing the homes and wildlife throughout our region. Kudos to the local fire service for safely making this happen.

    The Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area was transformed a few week’s back by a manmade blaze. In a matter of days fresh grasses began to spread, setting the stage for the next generation of growth at the outer boundaries of the Pines. As I was milling about looking for my shot, I spotted the remains of this torched stump hiding in plain site amidst a field of nothing but nascent grass the color of lime. Immediately I knew I had my foreground.

    The sky was hardly the greatest but conditions were solid all around. It’s my goal to return in the near future to use this stump as a foreground prop at least once more before the tall grasses return, swallowing the burnt remains whole. As always the cycle continues.