Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: landscape

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Testing the water

    Manahawkin, NJ photographer Greg Molyneux takes a long exposure black and white photograph of the bay and abandoned docks on Great Bay Boulevard.
    Testing the water — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 50 | EXP 300 sec

    For months now I’ve had my eye on an ND filter. I’ve been coveting the sublime long exposure work of talented fine art photographers and hoped to someday begin learning their craft and working it into my repertoire. After a bit of research—and some savings—I figured out everything I’d need to get a filter mounted on my convex 14mm wide angle lens. A simple threaded filter on a flat lens was not an option for me.

    Today it all came together. My filter mount, adapter, and 10-stop ND filter were finally off of the internet and into my hands. After a brief period of test setup in my house, I figured out how the system would work, repacked my camera bag due to new found size constraints, and headed out to Great Bay Boulevard for my first round of experimentation. My buddy Jeff was hip to come along which was key this time out as having an extra pair of hands proved helpful—sliding 6.5″ by 6.5″ filter plate into position while trying not to smudge any of the resin filter is quite a task. I probably will invest in some linen gloves in the future.

    The picture about was taken (started) about 5 minutes after sundown and was an open shutter for a total of 300 seconds—that’s 5 minutes for those scoring at home. I can’t wait to get back out and try again tomorrow!

  • You’re uninvited

    An HDR photograph taken from the southern side of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge overlooking the Atlantic City skyline at sunset.
    You’re uninvited — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    I was pressed for time yesterday and unable to post this shot before the Downton Abbey season finale and True Detective. Priorities, you know?

    Prior to all that I made my way to the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge to meet up with my buddy Jon and his mom. Ever since I’ve known about this place I’ve lusted over its obvious sunset potential; sprawling vistas, abundant wildlife, marshland for miles, and plenty of set ups with workable foregrounds. Oh, and birds.

    Going into the shoot I knew exactly where I wanted to setup: toward the southeast end of the refuge is a beachhead with exposed pilings and jetty rock. Jon on I hopped out of our vehicles, scampered off the dirt road down the shallow berm and onto the beach. Not exactly Normandy. We bandied about framing shots all about the beach until we honed in our tripods and set ups.

    And let picture making ensue. No? No.

    Just as I began firing off bracketed exposures an innocuous minivan slowed to a stop. A friendly voice hailed down and after the obligatory pleasantries I was politely told I couldn’t be where I was. In fact, I was told no one may actually step off the roadway—anything in the refuge beyond those bounds is off limits. The good news? Nesting doesn’t begin until April, 1, I learned, so thankfully no wildlife or habitat was put in jeopardy. The attendant was kind enough to let us make our shots real quick and then return to the road. It was the most cordial reprimand ever.

    Yesterday I learned I can no longer exploit the refuge for its once perceived wide angle landscape potential. Instead, I’ll take my bird appreciation to the next level and get myself a proper telelphoto lens and make the most of this beautiful place come Spring.

  • Hey look it’s Dock Road

    An HDR photograph of the actual pavement of Cedar Run Dock Road taken during blue hour by Manahawkin, NJ, photographer Greg Molyneux.
    Hey look it’s Dock Road — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Literally.

    I’ve gotta say, it’s been a pretty solid day of shooting. It started out with this morning’s pleasantries on the beaches of Ship Bottom and ended with the deepening blue skies of a Dock Road blue hour. Since I spend so much of my time photographing the marshes of Cedar Run Dock Road, I figured the least I could do is give the actual road some love. Besides, what else is there to shoot during a sunset that is sans clouds? Also, I’m noticing in my evolution as a photographer that I have a thing for signs.

    Worth mentioning: I ran into my old buddy Vin. He was there with his new Nikon D80o. We got to talk shop and take some photos; he gave me some good pointers for potential printing arrangements should I ever get that off the ground. All in all it was a good day.

  • Your day breaks

    Your day breaks

    An HDR sunrise photograph overlooking the dunes, dune fence, ocean and sand of 13th Street in Ship Bottom, NJ.
    Your day breaks — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    I’m not exactly a morning person so it’s not everyday I buck-up, pop the cot and go shoot a sunrise. But with a fellow photo buddy in town it’s a little easier to find the motivation.

    Conditions were pretty excellent this morning, comfortable temperatures with a cool early day glow left me thinking I’m real excited to be here. I spent my initial shooting going for the obligatory up against the shoreline shot. This was decidedly meh. The jetty rock I thought would be there had not so amusingly vanished, and there was nothing passable for an interesting foreground. When my buddy Jon walked over and showed me some shots he was making on his viewfinder, I saw he was making good use of the dune fence as foreground and I decided then I was going to follow his lead.

    Enter the shot before you.

    The swooping cloud formation, for me, creates a most interesting effect. It has the look of a crescent moon that’s dominating the daybreak sky, pressing its weight and looming ominously. Counterbalanced by the movement and lines of the foreground dune fence it makes for a well balanced scene. Getting up early was worth it.

    Related: I spent three great summers (2003–2005) manning the tools of ignorance for Ship Bottom, NJ Public Works. Three great summers of stretching dune fence. Every season we’d be replacing broken fence and even running whole sections of the stuff for blocks. Nothing like spending your days with your buddies, a couple pairs of post hole diggers, and some dune fence. It was simple labor but it always paid off going home each day having made real tangible results toward keeping our beaches clean and beautiful. Plus we got to see the sunrise each day. I miss that job.

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  • Whatever title you like

    An HDR photograph of a Great Bay Boulevard sunset by Manahawkin, NJ, photographer Greg Molyneux. In this photograph the sun sets next to an abandoned boat dock.
    Whatever title you like — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    First things first—I’m not in love with this shot. I’m not even sure I like it. I made my way to Great Bay Boulevard with a specific location and an already framed shot in mind. You see, I had already conceived a shot on my during my last trip to Great Bay Boulevard; only I was clouded out and unable to shoot. It was this that setup I had in mind with tonight’s more favorable sky conditions in mind. All of this is notable considering I seldom do much active mental planning regarding my shots. While I often revisit familiar places, I try to let the moment dictate the composition.

    When I arrived on scene I immediately knew I was hosed. A floating dock had rammed its way up the boat ramp—the spot I was already planning to setup shop. None of this was surprising considering the powerful Nor’easter that blew through here yesterday. I should have expected as much.

    What you see above is Plan B. And a haphazard plan at best. I don’t think I spent enough time finding the best composition at my location. More scouting will be required in the future. Nevertheless the sky colors did not disappoint, and it just felt good to be back out shooting again. It had been five days and I was getting stir crazy. Especially with all the potential snow my area just missed out on.

    Related to this evening’s photos shoot, I ran into a fellow sunset chaser. He was a Nikon shooter and I didn’t catch his name, but he was out taking in the departing sun as well. As we were both wrapping up he took note of the still unseen-to-me rising full moon over the marshland that was previously at our backs. Once I fixed my gaze I was instantly transfixed. Alas I have no telephoto. Fortunately he did and here’s to hoping he got off a great shot.

  • The path before me

    The path before me

    A sunset HDR photograph taken along Cedar Run Dock Road in Manahawkin, NJ, by local photographer Greg Molyneux
    The path before me — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    The Winter of the Great Sunset™ continues. Snow and cold be damned, the sky has been putting on a show this season. Seriously, though? Who am I kidding? I love the snow. Anyway…

    I returned to my tried and true Dock Road location to take advantage of the sun’s angle in the southwestern sky. While I’ve made shots from this location scores of times before, I wanted to find a slightly different take composing the scene—and by slightly different take I mean more visually pleasing; an arrangement that naturally fosters eye movement throughout the image.

    To achieve this end I kicked the legs out wide—getting nice and low—and pulled my tripod back a few feet. This brought the small rock and sand that now marks the foreground into the frame, creating a nice starting point to guide your attention throughout the photograph.

    I’m pleased I found this shooting position. I’ll certainly be revisiting in the future.

    I hope you enjoy.

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