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Whispy Shore
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Whispy Shore

by John Williams

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 22, 20153,235 views25 comments
It's been awhile since I've been able to post. In that time I've had changes at work, traveled to help my aging parents, married off a daughter, sold my house, and moved into temporary housing. It's been driving me nuts not to be able to get out more. I finally set aside four days this past weekend to get out and see the countryside; darned if I didn't come down with the latest crud that's being passed around at work. Ah well, the new home won't be done until July, and I hope to spend some weekends chasing spring flowers.

I had to cut the weekend short, but did take this before heading back home. This is the Washington shore of the Columbia River, taken from Mitchell Point on the Oregon shore.


Nikon D7100
Nikon 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 70 mm (105mm equiv.)
1/45 sec. at f/9.5 and ISO 100

Comments

25 comments
Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 22, 2015 at 9:53 PM
John: What great atmospherics! Makes me want to be there. Pretty nice conversion that really accentuates the mood. Most excellent.>=))>
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments
Comment posted by Harley Goldman on March 22, 2015 at 10:04 PM
Very surreal and cool!! I like this a lot.
Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Chambers on March 22, 2015 at 11:24 PM
This is strong as new rope! A very nice image for, but the water appears very noisy in the large version, or is that something that was actually in the scene? (or is it my old, tired, and somewhat fuzzy eyes this late at night?) Either way, it's sublime.
Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
Comment posted by Vance Gese on March 23, 2015 at 1:42 AM
Outstanding, John. The patterns on the river's surface add such a nice contrasting element to the rocks and trees of the far shore. Great work with the conversion to b/w with excellent tonality. Sounds like you have been quite busy; hope you can get out more. Your images are always so stunning and inspiring.
Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on March 23, 2015 at 10:11 AM
This's really, John. I like the soft grays here and the hint of warm toning.

Gosh, you've been through a lot. If you have a wife and held on to her you're both to be congratulated.

Tony
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on March 23, 2015 at 10:53 AM
Beautiful conversion, John - lovely range of tones. i like especially the perspective, the mood and the overall presentation.
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Reid on March 23, 2015 at 11:47 AM
Beautiful fog/mist in this John giving a wonderful overall mood to the scene. Also very nice tones in the B&W conversion. Is there sand in the fore ground as I too see what Bill is mentioning. But your usual stunning presentation. Very well done. :toast:
Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments
Comment posted by Alberto Patiño on March 23, 2015 at 12:17 PM
Marvelous image - the layering and tonal range are captivating!
Registered on December 2, 2014, 278 Posts, 1736 Comments
Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on March 23, 2015 at 1:00 PM
This really needs to be seen large to be appreciated, it's a big difference compared to the smaller version. The two completely different scenes (the water vs the trees/rocks/mist) work perfectly together, and it makes for a very fascinating image. Great!
Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on March 23, 2015 at 1:09 PM
This is Fantastic!! An amazing mood and just wonderful processing as well. Beautiful work John! :toast:
Hope you will have a little more time to get out now too.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by John Williams on March 23, 2015 at 2:05 PM
Thanks everyone!

I went back and looked at the original to study the comments about the noise/graininess. It was raining when I took this, and I believe most of the noisy pattern is due to rain drops and foam on the water. I say most, because on my wife's monitor I do think I'm seeing noise artifact from sharpening that I don't notice much on my monitor.
Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments
Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on March 23, 2015 at 5:33 PM
This is outstanding John. Great work. I just love the atmosphere
Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments
Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on March 23, 2015 at 5:52 PM
Oo well that's some epic conditions. Congrats on all the life stuff. Just keep the sanity :)

aF
Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Smith on March 23, 2015 at 6:59 PM
This is a nice monochrome which evokes peaceful serenity… grab a cup of java and sit back to watch the fog morph around the scene. Well done. Glad to see you back here posting.
Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Metternich on March 23, 2015 at 9:39 PM
Nice mood here John. Everything works. :toast:
Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments
Comment posted by Wayne Jones on March 23, 2015 at 11:19 PM
This is absolutely fantastic! The mist invading the atmosphere transforms this into a wet wonderland, and your image lets us in on the feeling. I like the shore so much that I tried covering the bottom to make a pano. That is not as good as your original comp, which puts the whole scene together, providing context for the beauty on the shore, and helping us experience the whole scene.

I can see that the foreground texture is from rain on the water, and even if there is some noise, that's a minor issue. (Some people like to add "grain" to B&W images anyway.)
Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments
Comment posted by Stuart Williams on March 24, 2015 at 4:19 AM
Nice to see something from you, John. Great scene with good atmospherics. A couple of points - first, not 100% sure but might need a tiny CCW rotation. and second, although the scene is surely atmospheric, I find my eye searches for some darker tones, even blacks. I love the FG/bottom half tones and wonder if they can be explored further - maybe, too, in the top half??
Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments
Comment posted by gary phillips on March 24, 2015 at 10:26 AM
So much depth to this image, John. Very surreal and an excellent B/w presentation. Glad to see you back participating and posting. I really enjoy your work. Hope the new home brings you peace and the opportunity to pursue your craft.
Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments
Comment posted by Igor Doncov on March 25, 2015 at 2:07 AM
Beautifully conceived and presented.
Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments
Comment posted by John Williams on March 25, 2015 at 9:44 AM
Stuart, knowing what you do with BW I'm always keen to hear your insights. Moving the darker top half portions toward half tones would seem to move away from the darks/black that you mentioned. Do you mean either/or, or something different? Thanks!
Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments
Comment posted by Navin Sarma on March 25, 2015 at 12:04 PM
Great mood and love the space in the foreground, adds a lot of ambiance IMO
Registered on July 17, 2011, 233 Posts, 1373 Comments
Comment posted by Grant Collier on March 25, 2015 at 6:04 PM
This is a really dramatic and moody shot. Well done!
Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments
Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on March 26, 2015 at 9:02 AM
Wonderfully moody. I'm especially attracted to the right upper half. swirling mist among the rocks and trees just beautiful. The FG water doesn't do as much for me. Maybe a zoom into the upper areas? :toast:
Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
Comment posted by Sandro Bisotti on March 27, 2015 at 8:51 PM
excellent and fascinating. Only I wonder if the white of bigger fog stripes could be more controlled and rich in tones.
All the best,
Sandro
Registered on February 8, 2015, 30 Posts, 265 Comments
Comment posted by Gary McGhee on March 30, 2015 at 11:19 AM
Top quality photo here John, loving the atmospherics. Great mono conversion too.

Having read your text I understand more what you mean with the comment you left on my eclipse shot now. Hoe you are feeling better.

Gary.
Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments