“Port Aransas Pier # 4″
Canon Mark II 1DS f2.8 70-200mm zoom @70mm ISO 100 F19@ 20 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 70-200mm zoom @70mm ISO 100 F19@ 20 seconds
Singh-Ray Vari ND (a variable neutral density filter)
Theme Week 41: Port Aransas Pier – A Study of Light and Color
for this one, I get the arches rising up, out of the mist. I see Japanese temples, or early English standing stones. A hint of stonehenge in the fog. What is particularly intriguing is the interplay between the almost mirror-like foreground then the wave motions forming smoke in the long exposure around the center. Tranquility giving way to chaos.
The two piles in shadow really frame the others in the warm light.
Also interested to note the variety in focal lengths & lenses you’ve used between the 4 images posted so far.
The lighting is super is this shot Craig. Since you have suggested in other posts that you use some sort of artificial light, I was wondering if this is natural light? I am trying to figure out how it might be getting under the pier so evenly. According to some shadows, it looks like it is coming from low and to the right side. Is this true? Also, I want to know where the young, beautiful girl is that should be in here somewhere. Is that a swimmer to the right side of the foremost right piling? I also like the way the mirror-like reflection in the foreground blends into smooth waves further back. And, there is definitely a pagoda look to the brighter piles in the background. Definitely worth one more day here.
Wes
I don’t think you can improve on the first one
There are 2 things that nag at me a bit here – first, the light is starting to give more contrast than warranted – but helped somewhat by the fact that there an odd number of pylons still in shadows, this a-symmetry is nice. Second, and somewhat curiously, the 20 second exposure blurred some parts of the water, but not others (a surprising phenomena) and this contrast is also a bit distracting.
I love how the water appears to be rising as it gets closer to the horizon. Great impact. I am not sure what I think about the second row of posts. To me this image is so symmetrical and the lighting on that second row throws it off. I think that is a nit and may actually be a good thing to keep me from those expectations. I wonder if you considered removing the end of the pier that appears between the second and third posts?
Very nice. Thanks.
Steve
Looking at these again, I’m getting a strong whiff of John Paul Caponigro. It might be the colour palette, or the water themes, or the somewhat alien symmetry, but it reminds me a lot of his images, while still being quite different in many ways (less constructed in the main)
Thanks for the mention of Caponigro, Gordon.
I had a look at his “Exhalations” Gallery and I can see where you are coming from both in terms of similarities and differences.
It would be interesting to know from Craig in his podcast if he is ever aware of the influence of other published photographers or is he thinks that viewing others images just becomes part of the subliminal aether that we all breathe in to live as artist/image makers.
Gary
Hi Everybody,
Thank you for all of the comments and questions.
Wes… its all natural light here.This is afternoon light about 45 minutes before sunset with the sun coming into the Pier from the right side at about a 45 degree angle.
Steve… one of my favorite things about this image is the asymmetry of the light on the second row of posts. For one, I like how it breaks things up and creates tension…. I also like the fact that it seems unlikely that the lighting pattern would change that dramatically in just a few rows of posts. I think it makes some viewers question the image like Wes did which hopefully keeps them with the concept a little longer.
Thanks to Gary and Gordon for bringing up a great topic here…. influences!
I am in the process of recording a Podcast on influences. Photography is such a young art form. I personally think photographers as a whole should learn something from musicians. In the world of music players wear their influences on their sleeve as a badge of honor. I here some pretty powerful voices in the world of photography warning others of becoming too influenced… I personally think this mentality is fear based …. it assumes people aren’t strong enough to assimilate their influences to the point that something all together new ultimately emerges. I believe this kind of alchemy is inevitable because of the multi dimensional nature of reality. I strongly believe we are constantly communicating with each other at a super conscious level of reality anyway….. or in other words every thought we have is a shared thought.
I have so many things I want to say about this topic that its hard to go short …. but for now I will go short because of the Podcast. I will say that I am familiar with JPC (John Paul Caponigro) but not so familar with his work. I saw a show of his images in Missoula Montana four or five years ago and a lot of the images were water images. But in other words, unlike a lot of other photographers I would not directly claim JPC as an influence because I have not actively followed or kept up with his images over time. From every thing I do know about him I should pay more attention to his teaching and work…. whenever I am teaching and his name comes up it is always in the context of a glowing remark or an inspiring comment.
At the conscious level of reality the photographers who I have followed the most and who I believe have had the biggest impact on me as an artist are Sebastio Salgado and David Muench. Salgado’s use of repetition and Meunch’s use of wide angle perspective distortion and light have had a huge impact on my work. I have a gazillion minor influences… more on that in the Podcast…..Craig
Craig, thanks for mentioning the impact influences can have on our work. I’m constantly inspired by many other photographers, well known pros as well as those not so well known and even by students in various photo programs and colleges. I subscribe to many photo magazines, which some of my photographer friends feel is a waste of money. But being able to view the work of many other photographers in the comfort of home, and to be able to go back and look at these works however many times I wish (also in the comfort of home) makes all my subscriptions well worth it to me.
Something I don’t understand about this image is how, in 20 seconds, you got what looks like some wave action to the right–unless that’s the fog, or perhaps just at the end of the 20 seconds a big wave reared up.
This image doesn’t move me as profoundly as the others so far. I think I’m sort of dragged to the right side by the lighter tones of that wave/fog. But then the sun is over there, too. The feeling I get is that I don’t want to stay under this pier, but I do want to move to the right out of the boundaries of the image and see the sun.
Love,
Flo