Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: lightroom

  • Sunday Alone

    Sunday Alone

    Shallow depth of field photo of autumn colors black-eyed susans.
    Sunday Alone — 35mm | f/1.4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/640

    Yes this was published on a Monday, but yesterday when I was making what I’m ready to declare my best series of flower photographs in years was in fact a Sunday. I have it on good authority that not only is Sunday is a day that ends in ‘Y,’ it always precedes a Monday. Allegedly. But don’t take it from me and always check your sources.

    My title is an exercise in layers. At the surface is a shot out to Trey Ratcliff and the eponymous Lightroom preset, Sunday Alone. Next, and as already worked over in paragraph one, I made this photo on a Sunday. As it so happens on a Sunday I was feeling particularly alone. I assure you the pairing of chosen filter and said mood was one of pure coincidence. The last layer is not without a touch of irony—the Black-eyed Susans pictured here are hardly alone. This is a thriving bloom of eager and lively coneflowers packed together in close quarters. Since Saturday I’ve been in full swoon when I first noticed this rudbeckia variety aside my parents’ walkway. I see you Saturday, coming before Sunday like you’re all that. Alone on a Sunday as I may have been, these flowers are serving up a healthy dose of joy.

    I proclaimed at the outset that yesterday, a so-called “Sunday,” was my best flower photo shoot in years. With any luck you’ll feel the same as I am going to be posting at least three more photos—though more are likely. Most will be more compositions of Black-eyed Susans, but there will be at least one hosta macro in here.

    Shout out to Sassafras Hill Farm for coming through with the identification on the rudbeckia so praised here.

    Interested in buying? Purchase

  • Alternate realities

    Cross processed with Trey Ratcliff's 'The Navigator' Adobe Lightroom preset, this wide angle photograph features telephone lines backdropped by a dramatic sky, all in a blue monochrome treatment.
    Alternate realities — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/60

    Follow the plan, they said.

    Don’t break the rules, they said.

    Welp. Here I am. Breaker of Rules. Destroyer of Conventional Wisdom. Over and over you’ll hear keep those horizons straight! and get those power lines out of there! And that’s all well and good. Rules exist for a reason. They keep us focused and give us a proven roadmap for success. So whether it’s the rule of thirds or don’t shoot in bad light—ahem, midday—we’re given useful constructs for our photography. And I appreciate that but sometimes you’ve just got to throw the rules out the window.

    Just the other day I was chasing down a sunset at my usual Cedar Run Dock Road jaunt and could quickly tell it wasn’t going to materialize into much. Instead of setting up my tripod and stubbornly waiting for the color drama that would never be, I opted for the change-up and went old school handheld. Bugs be damned I was just going to have some fun photo walking for a few minutes. I began taking shots at odd angles using non-standard compositions. To remain off the beaten path I used Trey Ratcliffe’s Adobe Lightroom preset, The Navigator and rendered this post-apocalyptic look.

    So get out there and shoot what you feel. Rules be damned, I dig it.

  • 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.

  • I’ll leave you when the summertime

    An HDR photograph of the marsh at sunset taken by photographer Greg Molyneux on Great Bay Boulevard in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey
    I’ll leave you when the summertime — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Since I was already down in Little Egg Harbor visiting with friends today, Great Bay Boulevard always hung in the back of my mind as the likely landing spot for tonight’s obligatory sunset chasing. I say obligatory if only because a) it’s a Saturday in winter—rending me home from work—and b) the setup looked favorable all day.

    We found our general area and I began investigating as to where I’d eventually plant myself and my tripod. While meandering about the shoreline excellent light was holding sway out over the marsh and my mood was good. This is always a favorite part of the experience for me—framing the shot and appreciating the waning light of day. Always take a moment to step back from the viewfinder to take it all in.

    I positioned myself precariously on some loose fitting jetty rock, or some facsimile of a lesser jetty rock. Regardless, it felt like a twisted ankle waiting to happen but served up the best view angle as far as I was concerned. Potential falls be damned, I set up the camera and tripod and began making the above photograph. It’s a composite of seven exposures later merged for processing in Photomatix Pro and Lightroom. I hope you enjoy.

    Interested in buying? Purchase