Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: golden hour

  • It’s a secret to everybody

    An HDR photograph of a boggy cedar swamp taken in the heart of the Pinelands just after dawn during golden hour
    It’s a secret to everybody — 40mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 3 Bracketed Exposures

    Kudos to Ben Wurst for planting the seed of a Sunday morning sunrise shoot in the pines earlier this week. It takes a lot to get this guy rolling in the pre-dawn hours—especially on weekends. But as tough as it is to get up, it’s always a touch easier if it’s for fishing or for photos.

    When it was settled where we’d meet up this morning my excitement for the locale began to overwhelm my denial of having to wake up so early. Along my route to work each day, about 14 miles into my journey, I pass a low bog in the heart of the pines. It offers an eastern face for sunrise and a western view for sunset, each from County Road 539. Unfortunately I’m always en route to and from the career gig and have yet to take advantage of the opportunity to stop and shoot. That changed this morning.

    Thinking I’d be setting up overlooking the roadside bog, I was shocked to find the most well manicured, 10 inch wide path through the pine forest. It was comically quaint. It would be the perfect fit for David the Gnome types. Something straight out of The Legend of Zelda. Excited by my discovery, I led us down the path. It wasn’t more than a tenth of mile in that we came upon another access to the bog. What’s more? It had its own wooden walkway making a loose 150 yard circle around the bog.

    The air was crisp. The sky was clear. The steam was rising. At this point my focus was all about getting a proper ray shot. The kind where rays of sunlight make there way through steam/fog/condensation with rich golden light. I was pleased that my handheld camera, 40mm, and I were able to get it done.

  • Just another marsh shot

    An HDR photograph taken of the salt marsh on the south side of Great Bay Boulevard during golden hour.
    Just another marsh shot — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Here’s my other shot from Monday. The shot I had all set up and dialed in before plans changed. It worked out for the best since I walked away with two keepers. And while I’m hardly a math magician even I can surmise two is greater than one.

    While compositionally sound, what I like most about this shot is the essence it captures. This is the Jersey Shore I know and love. The backwater coastal ways, the estuaries, the salt marsh. It’s where I find my peace.

    Long before I was into picture taking, I would take drives to the marsh—often with friends—to just take in the scene. Away from the angst and bustle of the real world, the busy world. We all need place where we can take a step back and decompress. That’s what the marsh is for me.

    Milestone alert: While yesterday was my 100th post on this website, this here shot is the 100th image I’ve shared. Thanks to all those who have visited, and thanks to all of those who someday will. Cheers.

  • These colors are not your own

    A cross processed wide angle landscape photograph taken during golden hour at Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area. The purple hues and single solitary pine at the end of a meadow grass ensconced dirt road create a whimsical, almost melancholy mood in the scene.
    These colors are not your own — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/25

    See that tree over there? The sparse one to the left rising up and all alone? Good. I couldn’t stop seeing it either. Everywhere I walked yesterday that quiet, unassuming tree kept reaching out for my attention—intimating its desire to be seen but never at the expense of being the center of attention. It carried a quiet confidence, overcoming its superficial loneliness; with each passing moment I became more and more convinced this tree was perfectly happy with its existence, with its place—hiding in plain sight. I as much as anyone can appreciate that.

  • Marsh gone green

    A wide angle HDR photograph taken during golden hour overlooking a tidal pool and glowing green salt marsh.
    Marsh gone green — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Photographing the salt marsh is not without trade-offs. In winter deep color sunsets rendered almost daily reign supreme; while in summer, the rich awakening of lush green marsh grass tells our eyes all they need to know that summer is here. Each are splendid in their own way.

    Tonight was my first night shooting wide angle in what feels like ages, and I haven’t been to Dock Road in I can’t remember how long. Let’s put it this way, last I laid eyes on the marsh it was only showing the slightest hint of nascent green spread thinly over the muted expense. Seeing the rolling green tonight was invigorating. And while I wound up clouded out of a promising sunset, I still captured an enticing glimpse of the marsh imbued with life once again.

  • And Suddenly you Find Yourself

    And Suddenly you Find Yourself

    A photograph of late day sunlight pierces a snow covered wooded trail meandering through the thicket.
    And Suddenly you Find Yourself — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/160

    I love snow—there’s just no other way to say it. Now that photography has emerged as my latest passion I’ll look to bring together snow and shooting as often as nature allows.

    Two weeks ago, while exploring the trail at the Ballanger Creek Habitat Enhancement Site with friends, the unsullied trail was coming alive with the fading of the afternoon sun. As I came around one final bend, I stopped short, crouched down, and knew I found my shot.

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