"Stranded in a Dream"

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Ansel Adams claimed that twelve significant photos taken in a year is a good crop. I usually find that one memorable image per photo trip works out to about the same ratio, being that I only get out about ten to twelve times a year. This is probably the only significant image from my Miami trip, but I think it is worthy of significance. Since the purchase of my Digital SLR last summer, I have worked at trying to duplicate the saturation and pop that Fuji Velvia film used to give me. Digital captures are superior to film for lack of grain, but the color can be less than equal to the vibrance of Velvia. This image, I feel, translates well the vividness of Velvia. It is exactly how I remember the moment. The two palms and the wasting canoe made it all come together. This is along a remote and isolated stretch of beach at the lower reaches of the Florida peninsula. Thanks for your time!

Pretty cool, Amigo! Can't beat the color palette. I think that my only nits are compositional; in that I'd have liked the prow of the old boat to not be resting virtually on the strand-line; and maybe stepping a skosh to the left to eliminate some of the lower right FG, and still preserve the twin palms in the BG. Wonderful sunrise, Mark! Cheers! Chris

Hey Chris, how's everything? Thanks for the feedback. As is usually the case, my favorite from this grouping doesn't seem to be everybody else's cup of tea. We were shooting in a different location about a quarter mile from this spot. The sun long down, I spotted the two palms and we started running to get in closer. I haven't run that much since high school. The boat came out of nowhere, and I originally excluded it as undesirable. Just before the light faded, I decided to use the boat as a subject. My first vantage was higher, which gave the canoe more space from the shore, but then I decided to get in closer to pull in the shells. Oh well! As far as eliminating the right foreground, I know what you mean but as I recall, what you suggest was not as feasible as it would appear. Next time in Miami, I will hopefully get back here for take two. It's entirely possible, though, that this canoe could be long gone by then if any storms pass by.

Mark... I was immediately drawn to this photo from thumbnail to view larger. In spite of the initial romantic fancy of being on a deserted island, there remains a tangible earthy realness here, unadorned, in your face.... beauty. Thanks for sharing... Mike

 

 

Great work! Regards! CL

Mark, this looks like it could be straight out of a travel brochure, and I mean that in the nicest way possible way. It is a wonderful capture. I'm not fussed by the lower right at all, but maybe I've seen sights like this too many times and realise that this is normal.

 

As for Velvia, I don't miss it at all. These days, the choices are mine. I love the neutral images that I get from the H3D. Come to think of it, I had stopped using Velvia in favour of E100G and Astia before I went digital. What I really don't miss about film is spotting. I have been reworking a few old images lately and the spotting is driving me nuts.

Thanks Mike, Christoph and Jeff for taking a look! I don't miss film in the least Jeff, but I do remember the different color palette that came with Velvia and before using that, Kodachrome. Now I am finding ways to get the same feeling in digital. The Kodachrome, as I remember, had a warmer look, Velvia introduced vibrant greens and pinks. I really like the way the complimentary colors were so rich within the same image. Problem was the contrast and, of course, the grain. RAW files look so flat when first opened, after a few adjustments the color and contrast start to show, but still look predominantly warm or cool. I like to treat various portions to combine the temperatures; warm and cool together increase the snap I believe.

hmm. Mike and I must think alike. My first thought was how romantic it would be to get stranded here for a couple of days....

Mark, the subject matter is quite evocative and your title speaks directly to my own initial impression of the image. Beautifully composed and glorious sunset. A paradise found.