Sunrise Below The Cloud Line

This image is 100% unedited. Please let me know what you think about

this or any other pictures in my portfolio so I can improve. Thanks

for viewing my work and offering your thoughts!

Perfecta imagen, excelente luz, color y un bello encuadre, magnifica composiion, saludos cordiales Tyler.

I love your sunrise shots (sunset?) It's wonderful that you've gotten these results without PSing the colors to death. I really love the range of red to golden that you've captured here. The clouds just above the horizon give you just enough interest behind the silhouette of the pier. Very nice work!

Tyler, thanks for your comment on the shrimpers.

 

This is nicely done and I am glad that it required no post-processing.

 

I looked at this one and guessed "Folly Island," which is narrower than it was when I was a kid, but this island is where I formed my first memories of the beach--any beach. There used to be palms on the beach, and cars could park beneath them. That area is about three blocks into the Atlantic by now, I would imagine, not only because of hurricanes and winter storms, but also because the jetties at Charleston harbor extend so far into the Atlantic that Morris Island and Folly Island are being eaten away in the lee turbulence of the Labrador current. Kiawah Island so far seems not to be affected, except on the Stono end just a bit. In fact, the southwestern end of Folly is growing even as the northeastern end is washing away--a typical occurrence because of the inshore Labrador current.

 

A lot of my life has been spent on this island, and the pier is new. I had not seen it, but I had a hunch that, if you were shooting in the Charleston area, the Folly side would be the most likely bet. The houses have deteriorated a lot, and the pilings driven to prevent erosion affect the beauty of the beach, but it is still a rather nice area. If you have the money, buy a lot on Kiawah. It can only appreciate, and it is a great island, if you haven't been out there. My father and I used to boat from Wappoo Cut down the Stono and up Bass Creek on Kiawah when it was absolutely wild--just don't do it on an ebb tide.

 

Oh, and you have to buy a sea kayak if you don't have one. Don't launch from the inlets (too many sharks and steep breaking waves) but off the regular beach--and be attuned to winds and tides. The water will stay warm into November, and will be warm enough again by April. Watch the tidal outflow from Charleston harbor, especially when an offshore wind is blowing. Go out with a flood tide and an onshore wind, and you will always wash back up on the beach if you run out of steam and/or break your paddles. Back in when you want to come back in with a heavy swell and big surf--I've surfed this beach with a board, but wiping out in a kayak can break your neck.

 

You gotta try it, if you haven't already--just watch the wind and the tides, and talk to the old-timers. It's duck soup out there, and the dolphins will play beside your boat. Carry a disposable camera. . . .

 

--Lannie

Very nice shot with great composition.