I’ve been in one of my occasional photo-funks … uninspired about what to photograph … weary of shooting the same old scenes … and feeling it particularly in my summer life at the shore. Do I really want to shoot another sunset or that old jetty in the surf?
And then —- then something crosses my vision and I go for it and the result excites me. I should re-read my own 2013 essay on this subject (A Photography Phunk) and get my head straight.
Well, anyway, how’s this?
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It is summertime, and the livin’ is easy, and we won’t be seeing scenes like this in January (at least until I get back to Sanibel). So, here are some more.
This was late afternoon and I wondered if the light being reflected from the bay would illuminate the chimney of the lantern. As I brought the camera to my eye I hollered “Cue boat” and along it came. I’m pleased with the image; the light in the lantern made the point, and I also like the coil of rope whose loose arrangement offsets the more formal nature of the image. Artist’s Confession: With the Spot Healing Brush I removed the Greenhead Fly that was on the chimney (well, it is summertime).
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Here’s another successful “Cue boat” scene. Yeah, another sunset but I couldn’t resist the alignment and leading line.
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At the beach the beach roses (Rosa Rugosa) are still producing blooms and a sweet, subtle fragrance. With early morning dew my camera quivers as it focuses on to them.
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On the beach a couple of weeks ago I managed to enjoy my first beach nap of the season. This entails a process: bringing together a mound of sand for a pillow; then spreading out my towel over all; and then lying down and wriggling a bit until the sand bumps beneath are smoothed out. Shortly after that I’m gone. Here’s the way I described it in a summer post a few years ago:
The waves a sibilant roar.
The soft wind, a balm.
The warm sand, bumpy
But accepting.
Sleep comes.
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Back in reality I recently came across this deserted hull … derelict but surrounded by a funeral spray of Queen Anne’s Lace. In a few months it may still be surrounded in white, probably snow. R.I.P.
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Here on Long Beach Island I don’t get to see the owls or Atlantic Puffins of Ray Yeager, or the hummingbirds of Susan Chilkotowsky-Kain. I’m pretty much stuck with these guys so I have to depend on the scenery around them. Well, the scene says summer.
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Finally, here’s one to sleep on. A perfect conclusion for the other end of the day.
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Thanks for visiting. I feel another nap coming on but I’ll be back.
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July 13, 2017 at 8:42 am
Thanks for sharing – always and inspiration to me.
July 13, 2017 at 9:13 am
Thanks for your comment, Susan. I hope you saw the hot link to some of your humming bird work, and that you get some visits from it.
July 13, 2017 at 10:10 am
Thanks for your little snippet of shore living. I don’t get down there much so can live vicariously through your residency there in the summer. My favorite of this batch is the lantern. Something different and that little curl of rope could not be better shaped or placed. I hope you had a good nap!
July 13, 2017 at 10:26 am
Thanks, Rich. I couldn’t explain well why that coil appealed to me; I think it took an artist to also appreciate it as well as the lamp scene.
Naps? They take a lot of study and work, and I am definitely working on them.
July 13, 2017 at 10:15 am
Great series as always, Ralph. I too am in a “Photo Phunk” and haven’t added to my blog in a year. Maybe you will be an inspiration as always. Was great seeing you again (at my LAST outdoor show),
July 13, 2017 at 10:28 am
Thanks, Sally. It was, indeed, a pleasure to see you and your excellent work again. See you at your NEXT show. 😉
July 13, 2017 at 10:49 am
Ditto on this Photography Plunk… I need to get my act together and prepare some posts. Enjoyed your post.
July 13, 2017 at 11:07 am
Thanks, Larry. I find that once I get a kick start, e.g. picking up the camera and aiming it, or starting some blog thoughts it begins to flow well.
July 13, 2017 at 11:30 am
Ralph, these may seem to you like over done scenes sometimes, but I always find them inspiring. A new way to look at a scene, framing I wouldn’t have considered, a snippet of a scene that I would have missed but you make it exceptional. Love your work!
Janet
July 13, 2017 at 6:35 pm
Thanks, Janet. I have learned a lot from looking at the work of others as well, and I continue to benefit; at minimum to be inspired. It’s all part of the learning and mastering process. Be well, lady.
July 13, 2017 at 1:22 pm
Great stuff Ralph. I am also often faced with the same dilemma. I don’t spend the whole Summer at the Shore but do take many short 3-4 day trips to Wildwood and LBI. I STILL wake up most mornings Pre-dawn to watch the Sunrise. Even if I don’t take pics I still feel blessed to be able to witness such beauty. But I get it how sometimes we feel we don’t have any new ideas. Often when I feel that way I am inspired by another’s work. Case in point. Love the Silhouettes. That boat hull. Is that in Barnegat Light? I have seen a similar one and taken shots of it this past Winter
July 13, 2017 at 6:31 pm
Yes, Joe. Good call. That hull is across the street from the entrance to the lighthouse parking lot.
That silhouette is what started this sequence of summer pix. I’m half a block away but my telephoto (400mm) and 1.4 extender got me there. Ain’t it all wonderful?
July 13, 2017 at 4:31 pm
Once again, wonderful pictures, capturing the real LBI.
July 16, 2017 at 9:57 am
Thanks, Fran. I’ve enjoyed seeing you and Joe this summer. It’s another part of summer.
July 13, 2017 at 6:42 pm
Wow that last image really is stunning. Don’t get me wrong. They are all wonderful captures and the blog ties them all together so well. Something special about that one though. Ahh beach napping. Sounds divine. Happy napping!
July 16, 2017 at 10:03 am
Thanks, Beth. Yes, I keep coming back to that image and it’s on the list for printing this summer. The foreground reeds are kind of a standard approach but they do help position the viewer. What I think adds to it is the fortuitous arrival of the gull.
In re napping, our mutual friend, Elaine W. has been working on me to sit in salt therapy rooms. Among other things she says I’ll feel so much better that I won’t need naps anymore. Uhhhhh …. I like naps.
July 16, 2017 at 6:57 pm
Sometimes nothing is easy about what tricks our photo triggers. That opening pic is fantastic!!!!
July 18, 2017 at 11:23 am
Wow, four exclamation marks. Thanks, Mike, and well said. It was one of those magic moments. We were on Grampa’s deck and I said to Barb, “I wish I were down there right now.” Then, the 100-400mm + 1.4 extender took me there. I see these scenes, before and after capture and I just shake my head. How fortunate was the timing.
July 18, 2017 at 9:16 am
Great post and more to add to your ‘Old Man & The Sea’ coffee table book. You know what they say … write or photograph what you know. After trying all kinds of photography subjects I have come full circle to accept what it is I love and I’ve stopped looking for something else. It seems to me that the folks who specialize in a subject win out. We all know who the Pinelands photographer is for example! It comes through in your photos when you love a place as you do. I say stop fighting it and find new ways, and under different conditions to shoot what you know & love!
July 18, 2017 at 11:29 am
Thanks, teach. I agree as long as I can find drama or beauty or interest where I am. I also pay heed to what Bob Krist once said, “If you want to take more interesting pictures, go to more interesting places.”
July 19, 2017 at 8:23 am
Yes … but it’s also difficult on vacations when the conditions don’t cooperate. I had to move to a more interesting place and often go back to a spot many times before I capture something worth sharing!
August 26, 2017 at 3:11 pm
Very inspiring and lovely Ralph.
August 28, 2017 at 9:46 am
Thank you, Season. I appreciate hearing from you.