Greg Molyneux Photography

New Jersey landscape and nature photography

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The Gift of Winter

December 13, 2020 by Greg Molyneux

14mm wide angle winter sunset photograph reflected over the derelict of Rand's Marina along Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area. A powerful December sunset smolders with flaming clouds cast in deep orange and red colors making first rate winter sunset intensity.

The Gift of Winter — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

No two sunsets are the same. This we know to be true. Return to the same place over and over again and you’ll be chasing unicorns to hunt down a pure facsimile. It’s best to take each unique moment and capture its joyful light as best you can, while you can. It’s a welcome lesson in the natural function of impermanence. This doppelgänger is impossible to find.

Tonight, however, I came close. In what I can only describe as the spiritual successor to Ruinous Splendor—changed only by time. Made just over five years apart at near the same exact track of bulkhead I give you the best sunset photograph I have made in five years. Recognizing the subjectivity of such claims I defer gracefully if you disagree in preference to another sunset photograph I have made. These decisions belong to us.

Winter sunsets, man. In particular winter sunsets heralding oncoming winter weather near always produce. While tomorrow looks to be a nuisance event with rain in southern Ocean County, winter weather will hit New Jersey tomorrow in the form of a weak coastal low. This, of course, is merely an appetizer for a far larger and more powerful system poised to wreak havoc on the entire region Wednesday into Thursday. Jackpot zones will be measuring in feet. Buried cars, bread and milk in short supply. Still over 72 hours out, where the rain/snow line and axis of heaviest precipitation set up remains up in the air. Stay close to Weather NJ’s Facebook page to keep up with the latest. You can bet I’ll be back out shooting Tuesday to see the big storm’s harbinger sunset.

Shout out to the universe today for giving me exactly what I asked for. This morning, while thinking about my photographs this year, I envisioned how great it would be to have at least one more clear cut entry into my annual best of series for 2020. My output has been solid enough this year, though real standouts have been lacking. Well, my Christmas gift came early. Thank you.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 14mm docks hdr landscape marina reflection salt marsh sunset

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Photos from the archives

14mm wide angle landscape photo made low key at blue hour. Soft pastels color up the sky above an oxbow lake feature of the Cedar Run Dock Road salt marsh.
14mm wide angle sunset photo facing east over the salt marsh under pastel colored cotton candy clouds.
100mm macro photograph of one purple coneflower with its blossom forming a crown. Processed in a low key blue hued monochrome.
HDR photograph taken at Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area featuring a fiery sunset offset by a few blowing blades of golden marsh grass in the foreground. The grasses look touched by sunlight.
Square format 14mm photo of fresh snow atop pine trees at sunset.

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