Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: long exposure

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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!

  • Black stars rise

    A moody long exposure night photograph overlooking the marshland toward Atlantic City.
    Black stars rise — 14mm | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | EXP 30 sec

    Yesterday photography happened by dawn, dusk, and night. By the time the evening rolled around my friends and I were hoping to head into the Pinelands for some astrophotography at Bodine Field. By the time it came time to head out a quick look skyward to us all we needed to know—we were clouded out.

    Plan B.

    And nothing sounds more official than a Plan B.

    We quickly readjusted focus and turned our destination toward Great Bay Boulevard. We had designs on incorporating Atlantic City and the brooding clouds into our shots. I only made a few exposures and when I cam home to process I decided pretty early on that I wanted go black and white. A nice moody monochrome, dark and evocative. I’m happy with the result.

    As for the title, Black stars rise, this is an homage to my new favorite obsession, HBO’s True Detective. Fantastic stuff that has my mind running.

    It’s time, isn’t it? The black star. Black stars rise. I know what happens next. I saw you in my dream. You’re in Carcosa now, with me. He sees you. You’ll do this again. Time is a flat circle.