Greg Molyneux Photography

Category: Blog

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

  • A path in the pines

    Manahawkin photographer Greg Molyneux's black and white photograph of a snowy trail turning off to the left in the Pinelands. This photograph features a grainy treatment and stark black and white contrast juxtaposing the light and dark. All light focuses on the path.
    A path in the pines — 40mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/640

    Yesterday morning I woke up to a late season South Jersey Special. Which is to say we received about 6 inches of snow in Manahawkin while the good folks to the north (about 40 miles) saw next to nothing. You win some, you lose some in New Jersey. Wanting to make the most of the fresh fallen snow my buddy and I made for the Pinelands. After about 3 abrupt U-turns we pulled down a small little trail.

    I started the shoot with my 40mm pancake lens—it seems like months since I’ve taken it for a spin. Not far from the truck I quickly framed up a shot, focusing on the trail that doglegs to the left back behind the pines. It advances the story and leads us wondering what’s around the bend. I didn’t know it at the time but this would wind up as my shot of the day. Different from my usual style, this grainy black and white calls for your attention at simply cuts out the rest.

  • Low tide allowance

    A seven frame black and white composite exposure of a wooden bulkhead and mounded jetty rock define the portrait orientation scene with Barnegat Bay expanding off to the right.
    Low tide allowance — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Today’s photo excursion began in Harvey Cedars, moved to Surf City, and ended in Ship Bottom. Harvey Cedars and Surf City were total busts as it seems Long Beach Island is now near void of exposed jetty rock. This is for the best environmentally as the beaches have been built up and reinforced by a substantial rolling berm. Storm protection and preservation comes first.

    With the oceanside long exposure jetty shot out of the question we turned to the sure thing of the bay. Returning to Sunset Point I meandered about looking for a workable solution. The sky was overcast, the water calm, and obvious shots were not exactly jumping out and boasting, here! Looking over the bulkhead I noticed an exposed tract of land with about 2 feet of exposed sand fighting off the bay water. I hopped down camera in hand and had my buddy pass down my tripod. I set up my gear, made my exposures, and climbed back out of the encroaching bay.

    Considering the general overcast I had an inkling this would lend itself to a high contrast, low key result. I’m satisfied with the end product.

  • A new place to play

    An afternoon long exposure photograph taken from High Bar Harbor in Barnegat Light overlooking east toward the Barnegat Lighthouse. In this empty bay beach scene, the low level clouds streak across this black and white photograph from left to right.
    A new place to play — 14mm | f/22 | ISO 50 | EXP 41 sec

    My buddy Jon and I had some time to kill and set out for some photo-exploring. Initially targeting the Barnegat Lighthouse, we made way to Long Beach Island and turned north. Approaching our final destination we made a quick pit stop at an area Barnegat Light bay beach. Unremarkable on its own, that beach told us one thing: the wind was going to spoil any shooting out on the long jetty of the lighthouse inlet. Any exposed area would render shooting difficult at best.

    Having never been before we turned our attention toward High Bar Harbor. A unique piece of land on the west end of Barnegat Light where we made for a cove that would shelter us from the whipping west wind.

    Where we wound up was pay dirt. An area of protected beach that has an eastern face—featured here looking out to the lighthouse—that will be most excellent at sunrise; and a path leading to a western exposure looking out to the Barnegat Bay to the rear. Morning, noon, and night, this spot has loads of potential.

    It was a bit earlier than I normally shoot, and as such the light was rather intense. I went with my ND filter and stopped all the way down to f/22. I seldom stop down this far unless it’s for a very specific purpose—in this case it was to maximize my exposure time—slowing things down all the way to 40 seconds. Enough time to render sufficient cloud movement left to right.

  • Still worth it

    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.
    Still worth it — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Twilight was cold. And windy. And frankly the sky was largely meh—a ho-hum vestige at best. Did I mention it was windy? And cold?

    Wind was such a factor I was concerned about camera shake with my exposures. Were it to wind up being an issue it would have been further compounded as I was taking seven bracketed exposures to boost dynamic range. Looking at my images back at the house revealed the trusty tripod did its work and kept the images clean and clear. Seriously, I can’t stress the importance of a sturdy tripod enough; particularly if landscape photography is going to be your thing.

    Back home I took a little departure from my standard post-processing workflow. After some initial tweaks to the seven exposures in Lightroom, I imported the images into Photomatix for merging. After re-importing a single image back to Lightroom I edited to taste further, bringing about a more representative dynamic range. It’s here where I departed from the status quo and took it an extra step. Bringing the image over to Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 4 I applied the Duplex filter to make the final image more diffuse and a touch warmer.

    I’m pleased with the result—maximizing the most of an otherwise ordinary sunset.

    I did have some company while I was out there. I ran into a gentlemen cruising about Cedar Run Dock Road in his van taking sunset snapshots. We chatted for a few minutes, talked about good spots, a sunset a few days back, and then went on about our business. It’s always good to see other people out and about enjoying and capturing nature. It’s not a bad way to pass the time.

  • On point

    An HDR photograph taken just before sunset from the north end of the bay beach in Ship Bottom, New Jersey. The protruding jetty rock creates a natural leading line toward the drama off on the horizon.
    On point — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 50 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Here’s a holdover from last night’s shoot at Ship Bottom’s cloistered sunset park aptly named, Sunset Point. I made this shot from seven bracketed exposures; I took them just before I loaded up my ND filter and made yesterday’s long exposure.

    I’m using the jetty rock as a natural leading line, pointing out the action across the bay along the horizon. The smooth blue tones washing over the scene evoke a calming mood, reinforced by the soft ripples undulating across the top water. This spot just screams (whispers?) stay awhile and listen. Listen to your thoughts. Listen to the water. Listen to the birds and to the breeze. There is wisdom in nature.

    With Spring just over the horizon the place makes me smile, imagining the warmth to come.

  • Passing time

    A long exposure photograph taken during blue hour overlooking Barnegat Bay from a sunset park in Ship Bottom, New Jersey. A stretch of jetty rock serves as the foreground.
    Passing time — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 50 | EXP 241 sec

    I did a bit of impromptu exploring today. Initially I went east to Sunset Park in Surf City but as soon as I arrived I just wasn’t feeling it. The tide was up and I couldn’t make a good angle. I got back in my car and moved on. In doing so I was daydreaming, you know, thinking up a spot. In daydreaming I nearly ran a red light. Nearly.

    After that shock to my system I decided I head to a familiar place from long ago: the Ship Bottom bay beach. A place where I used to paint the restrooms, dump the trash, and sweep the walks. A memory from my time with Public Works. Once the 10 second nostalgia wore off and I arrived, I immediately noticed the little sunset park tucked away to the north end of the bay beach, hiding in plain sight. Smiling, I knew I had a new spot and couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before.

    A quick walkthrough revealed many possibilities for tonight and for future nights. It even has its own little beach with a little run of jetty rock, and a gazebo too. So much potential.

    Tonight I wanted to address a few early misses with my ND filter. I wanted to play around with the white balance to see if I could counteract the blue color cast that is the byproduct of my filter, and I’m pleased with the result. Also, I wanted to capture some good clouds for once. With ample cloud cover cruising in from the west I was able to capture some real movement with this 240 second exposure. During that window, the sky really lit up orange and red and cast a pleasing glow on the final exposure.

    Enjoy.

  • Mirrored Worlds

    A long exposure photograph taken during blue hour overlooking the lake at Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area. The picture creates a near perfect mirrored reflection.
    Mirrored Worlds — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 50 | EXP 121 sec

    Pictures aside thank you Daylight Savings Time. It’s a real victory being able to chase light and photograph after the long commute home. It changes the game for me as extended weekday shooting is back in the fold.

    I had some time to kill before dinner tonight—and in the interest of full disclosure, dinner tonight consisted of pepper steak at the folks’—I quickly hemmed and hawed over the beach or Stafford Forge as I grabbed my gear and loaded the car. Once I remembered we were negotiating evening high tides all along Long Beach Island, I opted for the Forge. Long exposure jetty rock tidal pictures will just have to wait.

    Some quick thoughts on the ND filter:

    • Set up is more laborious—especially with the care needed in handling the filter so as to be sans prints (fingers)
    • Loading in the outer slot and leaving the inner slot empty will cause light leaks
    • The filter itself seems to cast a blue hue; not certain if it’s common but the filter’s not as neutral as its name would suggest
    • Enjoying the challenge—gonna be a bit before I get something really gripping

  • Fallback plans

    An HDR photograph taken at the end of Cedar Run Dock Road overlooking the bay to the south taken just after sunset.
    Fallback plans — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 50 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    I had every intention of shooting with my ND filter today. I even got so far as to spending the greater part of my sunset shoot one 300 second photograph at a time. After cursory glances at my LCD I was pleased with the exposures rolling through. It wasn’t until closer inspection—after I was packing up my gear—that I noticed the litany of light leaks scattered about each photograph. Looking at the images back home on the computer revealed even more frightening results. It was so bad you could actually see the entire reflection of my convex lens in each picture. It was almost immediately that I knew where I went wrong, I loaded the filter onto the mount in the outside slot instead of the inside slot. A rookie mistake. One I will not make again. The added spaced allowed the light to bounce wreaking havoc with reflections.

    Rewind back to sunset, where I didn’t have the benefit of a large display and well-informed hindsight, I quickly set up shop so I could test my now filterless lens to ensure nothing funky was going on with my glass. Sparing no haste I composed the shot above and fired off seven bracketed exposures. Not a bad way to turn the shoot around, and I made a mistake and learned.

  • In color

    A long exposure photograph overlooking Great Bay during blue hour taken by Manahawkin, NJ photographer Greg Molyneux from an abandoned boat ramp on Great Bay Boulevard.
    In color — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 50 | EXP 300 sec

    I’m not one to usually post numerous treatments of the same photograph, but I thought it made sense here for comparison’s sake. But the more I think about it now, I’m beginning to prefer the color treatment over the black and white I posted previously.