“Port Aransas Pier #2″
Canon Mark II 1DS f2.8 16-35mm zoom @28mm ISO 100 F9.5@ 30 seconds
Singh-Ray Vari ND (a variable neutral density filter)
Theme Week 41: Port Aransas Pier – A Study of Light and Color
Canon Mark II 1DS f2.8 16-35mm zoom @28mm ISO 100 F9.5@ 30 seconds
Singh-Ray Vari ND (a variable neutral density filter)
Theme Week 41: Port Aransas Pier – A Study of Light and Color
my first instinct with this sort of shot would be to really square up and balance the corners, crop so everything went in and out right on the diagonals. I’m not so sure my instincts are very good, though! Maybe the differences keep the shot from being boring. I tend to feel I get too straight on and too symmetrical on things like this – was there a deliberate decision on your part to have everything balanced around the edges ?
Hi Gordon,
Thank you for the question.
Because of the fact the structure itself is/ was not square I tended to shoot a lot of subtle variations from left to right and high to low. The one thing I tried to keep constant was a level horizon and I did that by using the level on my Bogen 808 three way pan tilt head. With a view camera that has shift, rise and fall you could square everything up perfectly by getting the tripod close to the middle of the composition and then use subtle camera movements to finish the job. But with the 35mm its a matter of having to move the whole tripod to find the perfect middle which is very tedious. When you combine that with the structure being askew I quickly gave up on perfect symmetry – shot loose and looked for subtle off center compositions and relationships that I liked that would help to balance the leaning columns of the pier and the other elements of changing color and light….Craig
P.S. To get the warm color at the rear of this shot I used a combination of painting with light (I was working with a two million candle power portable spot light) and two RAW conversions to introduce a strong feeling of complimentary color…. the green is coming from Mercury Vapor lights that are on the Pier that have automatically come on during twilight…..Pier #1 was all natural light and I pushed the existing colors in PS.
This is my favorite of all of the shots because of the lighting in the back, both under the pier and outside of the pier. I am also pulled deeply into the image by the top-bottom and side-side triangles which give some great diagonals. Print this out at about 4′ x 6′ and I will buy it from you. Just be reasonable with the price. :>) I keep moving away from the picture and it would fit so well on a big wall. I will have to build a wall but it would be worth it.
I am in love with this shot Craig. It just keeps calling to me. Whew.
Wes
Oh, I like this. It pulls me right in and way back. The light, colors, and composition are just wonderful.
I especially like the way you’ve retained a clear reflection in the foreground under the pier — I assume by compositing a faster exposure. For me, that emphasizes the idea of a portal from “right here!” into another world.
Craig, this is my favorite of the three pier shots! It is almost like getting and looking at a present. Wonderful cool but exciting colors too. I think this one kind of makes the other two look ordinary when viewed together. :0) Nice work!!
Murry
This is definitely my favorite of the pier shots. I think the wider angle helps you a lot here compared to the first. My stomach was a bit upset looking at the pier tilt with that dead flat horizon line. In this shot, I didn’t have to spend as much time working with the lines of the pier and could focus on the fantastic colors and wonder how long it would take one to walk to the end of that never-ending pier.
Thanks
Steve
I love this picture. it is a mirror image of itself, the lighting seems to come from under the water. You tell Gordon that you used a spot light, was that at the camera or attached under and closer to the end of the pier? I really like the triangles that jump at me from each of the four quadrants in the image, then the two additional triangles that are the pier itself and it’s shadow in the middle of frame. All leading to the perfect square in the center. I look forward to learning more about lighting for long exposures. Did you have the spot on the full :30 seconds or pop it on and off, and was it for the warmth at the end of the shot??
It’s a beauty Craig….Jim
One thing I’ve fallen fowl of when doing painting with light (and I don’t think it is really an issue here, because it is only used on such a small area, but the discussion is here and it reminded me). I’ve had a tendency to stand where the camera was and paint with light, from the camera’s perspective.
It took me a bit of time to realise that’s about as exciting as using an on camera flash and I really need to get ‘off axis’ with my light source to provide different shadowing and lighting.
Hi Gordon,
Good point…. the front lighting in this one was very intentional….I wanted a strong center of color in the design of the end of the visual path of the pier.
I have several more posts to make and one of the images is a light painted shot (in the fog) where I used the self timer to run far to camera left and paint side light on the columns of the Pier….I have a comparison with front light in that particular set up which I will show in the Vidcast….Craig
Craig, you are killing me with this photo! I love it. #4 and #1 are similar to shots I got at Tybee, but the colors in this photo are amazing! What was your WB set at? And as for the painting, did you walk out into the water to do that or were you able to focus your spot from camera position?
Terrific work and thanks for sharing it with us.
Susan
A totally different feel from the first one. I’d love to have one of those digital image displays that would alternate between the first image and this one, giving maybe ten seconds to each.
I love the triangles/wedges in this image. They just whoosh me fast towards that little square window. I like that in this image the horizon is slightly above center, which IMHO makes this a more dynamic composition than if the horizon were exactly centered.
The colors – cyans and deep blues and in the sky just a hint of pink up a bit from the horizon. The only really warm color comes from the light painting near the end of the pier. The splash of white spreading out on the water helps balance the heavy darkness of the pier. Just beautiful.
Love,
Flo
Hi Susan and Flo,
Thank you for the kind comments!
This is a mix of two white balances or two conversions layered…. near tungsten and near daylight. The beam on spot I have is fairly narrow but I still used my hands to “blade” it down to more of a narrow light source. I did the light painting on this one from behind the camera but on others I did walk into the scene. I shot quite a few where I painted with the light at a steep angle to the columns. I shot hundreds of images and many, many variations……Craig
[...] Photo credit to Craig Tanner of Light Diary [...]