Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: ship bottom

  • The Morning Look

    The Morning Look

    35mm sunrise photograph east facing from the beach. A fiery sunrise with a hint of abstraction from motion blur caused by panning the exposure left to right. Photo made on 12 November 2023; Ship Bottom, Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
    The Morning Look — 35mm | f/5.6 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/30

    In my last post I talked fishing. Fishing and photos. Here I offer another sunrise photograph made on 12 November 2023. A simple left to right pan shot to pull the colors across the frame. And what wonderful dawn colors were pulled that day.

    For a few years now I have been near all in on panning my landscape frames. And if anything, its personal appeal only grows with time. I often think of ways to articulate my fondness but stumble with awkward, poorly expressed thoughts. An art critic I am not. That said, I’ll stick to basics.

    First is color. By moving the camera during shutter depress lines blur, details merge, and color is most of what remains. It breaks down form into little more than moving color. And this color shines best at sunrise and sunset.

    Second is movement. The blurred streaks come from panning the camera left to right, level to the horizon. Motion blur. Simple as that. Through this technique the movement of your hand during the exposure works as the hand of the painter brushed upon their oils. Moving the eye, moving the heart.

    Third is line work. Sharp line work. At first blush this statement may read contradictory and absurd, but hear me out. By keeping a level camera plane throughout your pan, flat horizons become a razor’s edge. Sharp and defined. This grounds the viewer, placing visual queues of where and how to look. Amid the blur and soft focus it reveals the scene, which brings me to. . .

    Abstraction. Fourth is abstraction. Through color, movement, and sharp line work our blurry puzzle is near completion. Even though the often crucial presence of sharpness and detail is missing, the photographer yet conveys the scene with a full, albeit distilled effect. You know this photograph, despite its blur and motion, you know this a beach glowing in the splendor of dawn.

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  • Fish On

    Fish On

    35mm sunrise photograph of Dan Molyneux plugging the top water as he surf fishes for striped bass during the 2023 fall run. Captured on Long Beach Island on 12 November 2023, Ship Bottom, New Jersey.
    Fish On — 35mm | f/5.6 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/15 sec

    The mid-Atlantic fall run has brought big smiles and tight lines to striped bass enthusiasts up and down the New Jersey coast. Whether by boat or by surf, the 2023 fall bite has been certifiable. So far this season I have made it out thrice—once by boat, and twice by Ship Bottom surf. Naturally I have zero fish to show for it. My cousin, however, photographed here, had himself a banner day by center console. Too bad I was not there with my camera.

    One thing we did catch, however, cold hands aside, was a fantastic 12 November sunrise. During a brief pause in pre-dawn plugging I made this exposure with my 35mm. Given the excitement of fishing, a fiery sunrise, and frozen fingers, I missed precise execution on this frame. Given the sluggish shutter speed the focus is softer than I planned. The good news is that I rather enjoy the effect it’s laid over the final image. It lends a painter’s touch and the 1/15 second exposure gives the foreground sea wash a sense of motion, grounding the sense of place. This is fall run surf fishing at its finest. If only there was fish on.

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  • Set Aside Bayside

    Set Aside Bayside

    Bayside sunset photo over sand and jetty rock.
    Set Aside Bayside — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Last light and the tide was with me. Which is to say gentle bay waters were low and slow affording me a dry spot otherwise lost to the migrating sea. More often than not I find myself unable to set up shop on this the starboard side of the jetty without getting myself or some gear wet. Nevertheless I like it here—a spot where I made a favorite black and white years back—so it was great to find it available this evening.

    Ten minutes to sundown and I was admiring the altocumulus clouds filling the sky. Tight reticulated patterns draped across the deck moving in slowly from the west. Like a cosmic fabric wearing checkerboard markings I was lost in its mesmerizing array. The only question on my mind was would there be enough space in the clouds to allow the sunset color to pass through? It only took a few minutes to find solace as the cloud deck began to heat up in a smoldering red glow. Contented I made my shutters and took in the rest of the show undistracted.

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  • Solemn Shores

    Solemn Shores

    Sunset photo with pastel skies and a jetty rock foreground.
    Solemn Shores — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    One more photograph from August 25, 2016. After making my first frame I periscoped my tripod head right to left from a west to southwest orientation. My reasons were twofold: 1) the high level cirrus clouds were a more impressive pastel color toward the south, and 2) I wanted to get a different angle on the jetty rock situated in the foreground. It was a simple adjustment while largely staying in place that breathed new life into the composition. Plus it brought more of the compacted wet sand into the frame. Churned up sand festooned with countless random footprints does something fierce to my OCD. As it is I’m always drawn to a palette of untainted sand.

    A now for something slightly different: I made a video! A brief, 87 second job from the same position and setup as this photograph. Obviously I need some practice—not to mention a noise canceling microphone to dampen the wind—but it’s a start. Someday time lapse and film will become a thing for me. Hopefully.

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  • Ship Bottom Retreat

    Ship Bottom Retreat

    Fiery sunset photo over the bay of LBI's Sunset Point in Ship Bottom, NJ.
    Ship Bottom Retreat — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    I made my way over to Long Beach Island last night. It was a beautiful evening and considering the calendar’s rude notion that summer is quickly winding down it seemed worthwhile to capitalize on a resource that will soon be in short supply—warmth. Initially I defaulted to my usual LBI summer spot, Surf City Sunset Park. As I pulled into a parking space, however, I was met with an innumerable populace milling about the bay beach performing all manners of bay beach acts. Selfies, swimmies, chair sitters, gazebo dwellers, swingers (the park swing kind, people—let’s keep it on the up and up), walkers, basketballers and the like were also making the most of this resource known by some as a warm summer’s eve. Daunted, I fell back to Plan B.

    Instinctively I knew where to retreat. Like Washington stealing his army out of Brooklyn and into Manhattan by boat under the cover of darkness and right under General Howe’s nose, I sought refuge at a place that has long provided sanctuary to the man called Molyneux. OK so this wasn’t like Washington’s daring retreat that saw no loss of life at all, but considering that happened in late August—August 29, 1776 to be exact—I figured I’d drop a real non sequitur into this post. You may thank me for your new fun fact that will aid you in your barstool trivia quest later. You see, jumping back to things that are actually relevant I spent three summers working for Ship Bottom Public Works. From 2003–2005 I spent May–September toiling away with friends and coworkers alike, doing our best to keep the public facilities of Ship Bottom free and clean. In doing so I staked daily responsibility to Ship Bottom Bay Beach. From 7:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. sweeping away parking spots full of sand, pitchforking a night’s load of seaweed from the bathing beach, and the obligatory Dumping of the Trash with the Slacker was the order of the day. Keeping things in tip-top shape, our pride.

    To the northern end of the bay beach sits a park. Ship Bottom Sunset Point to be precise. A small park filled with all the things that a park make. Things like benches, placards, flowers and shrubberies, memorial bricks, a gazebo and a bird hotel that puts my own residence to shame. Somehow this is all crammed into a space of about 5,000 square feet of sandy land if I had to guess. Yet when it is grown in full at peak season it affords all the coverage and privacy one could wish for. To its western edge sits a sandy beach running the course of the bay. It was along the jetty rock of said beach I made this photograph last night.

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  • Growth Phase

    Growth Phase

    Vertical orientation wide angle photograph of well manicured plant life and gazebo at blue hour
    Growth Phase — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Kicking it back to Monday evening, back to Ship Bottom Sunset Point. (That’s two shots in a row!) Only this time I tried my hand with vertical orientation—or portrait orientation—camera work. Unlike run-of-the-mill horizontal orientation, it’s a technique that doesn’t come easy to me; but it’s hard to argue with its intrigue—particularly at wide angles. I think it works best when you have low level foreground with which to get up close and personal. From there angle your frame such that you have roughly two-thirds of the ground composed and you are good to go.

    Now for some self-critique: I may have gotten a little too close to my foreground. My mistake is betrayed by the loss of focus in the very bottom section of the frame. Had I been more aware I could have 1) backed my tripod up another inch or two, or 2) stopped down to f/16 or f/22. I typically don’t like stopping down that much as it does start to diffuse your photograph’s overall focus. It does, however, widen the overall acceptable field of focus. Trade-offs, man. It’s all about trade-offs.

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  • Parklife

    Parklife

    Wide angle photograph amid the bushes, plants, and shrubs of Ship Bottom Sunset Point.
    Parklife — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Monday night after doing the 9–5 thing I made my way to Ship Bottom Sunset Point. It had been a while since I did some photo things from this Long Beach Island location. It’s a cool little spot nestled bayside, and it holds a tender place in the Greg Molyneux memory bank. For three seasons (2003-2005) I spent my summer days working for Ship Bottom Public Works. Great times with great friends, and a cool full time staff of dudes to boot. I learned a lot those three summers, and I miss it from time-to-time.

    Walking through the park my mind was oscillating back and forth between the then and now; first considering how well manicured and pruned up the park is, then panning to past memories and an unavoidable lament of where the hell the time has gone? Life is full of these moments I suppose. Past. Present. Future. Events and people long gone. This wasn’t a sad experience, however. Instead there was an upwelling, an appreciation for the opportunity and for the good times had by all. May the joys of youth forever shine.

    This lyrically inspired song title comes from Blur’s “Parklife.” Excellent tunage.

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  • Fade Out

    Fade Out

    Blue hour HDR photograph overlooking dune fence and calm bay water
    Fade Out — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    For those of you following my photos on the regular—thank you!—you know I like vibrant, contrasty colors for my landscapes. The more color the better. But in processing last night’s shot (today) I wanted to produce a kinder, gentler final image. A more subtle hand to photograph and capture the calm, soothing blues that crept out over Ship Bottom’s bay beach as the final fading moments of light packed up their things for the daily migration west.

    In spite of a promising cloud deck sunset never fully fired yesterday, and in this case I’m not even a trifle bit upset by that. After the world class light that’s been pumping in of late it was nice to take a breather to sit back and appreciate a true blue hour. This shot was made a good 25–30 minutes after full sundown, and coupled with the unseasonably mild temperatures (it’s cracked 70 the past two days across New Jersey) it was a real treat to make December photographs in short sleeves. Many rejuvenated revelers were out and about with their cameras, pets, and bicycles, while couples went walking hand-in-hand. It was just all so nice to see.

    Compositionally I’ll go as far as to say I did the best I could. Until I arrived I was forgetful of the fact that at this time of year, with the winter sun setting in the southwest, angles get a little tough on many of LBI’s westward exposures. Sunset Point in Ship Bottom is surely no different. With the Point itself completely out of the the picture, I made my way about 200 feet south along the bay beach and decided to make my final stand at this little section of dune fence. Forever fond of said dune fence from my days of yore maintaining the public spaces with Ship Bottom Public Works, it was this or just an open expense of heavily traveled beach sand. The fence seemed the better play.

  • Some days the sun goes out in style

    A vibrant HDR sunset taken bayside from Sunset Point in Ship Bottom, New Jersey.
    Some days the sun goes out in style — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    … and leaves us in awe.

    I’m certainly glad I made it over to Sunset Point in Ship Bottom, New Jersey for what turned out to be some top shelf sunsetting action. There were plenty other revelers to take in the visual mastery, too. Related: I was most pleased to see those in attendance hang out with their cellphone cameras for the pastel explosion that came about 10 minutes after sunset. They were rewarded for their patience. All too often I see other photographers get in there car and leave moments before the color takes it up a notch.

    Tonight was a perfect example. What started out as 50/50 with a chance of being clouded out turned into one of the better sunsets I’ve seen. I’ve lucked out twice this week. I am not complaining.