LIFEBOAT STATION-MUMBLES, PEMBROKESHIRE

A 2 minute exposure to flatten the water, taken on a dull overcast day. It started raining so even though I tried to shield the filter with my hand I still had quite some time removing spots.

The composition is simple with the main subject just below the horizon to balance the space.

Despite the horizon being a little misty I still wanted to blend it out more and brighten it to make the subject stand out. The bridge across to the lifeboat station was easy enough just by brightening it, but the railings on the launch slope, the mast on the building and the legs under the pier all took some very careful masking.

The sky was swapped with one of my own long exposure skies. It was flipped, softened and a curved Path Blur added.

ROKER PIER-SUNDERLAND

A very simple image to process, the exposure was just over 4 minutes taken on an overcast day. With barely any cloud texture the movement is very soft and understated.

There are some people on the pier, mostly fishermen who have been recorded as ghosted exposures. Walking figures were removed because of the long exposure. I could have removed the other figures but decided they are part of the image.

The horizon was removed in the same was as in the guide, with selections and a pale grey graduated layer.

A wanted a very minimal image and the tones provide that, contrasting well with the dark tones of the pier. The sweeping curve of the pier gives a very graphical image.

SANGO BAY-DURNESS, SCOTLAND

Another day, another storm in Assynt, with high winds, flat grey skies and rain, so much rain. If you’re determined like me losing shooting time because of weather is a huge let down so there needs to be a plan B.

Going to the coast allowed the opportunity to do some long exposures although it was a challenge. This image took a few attempts using my body to shield the camera from side wind and rain and also trying to prevent tripod movement in the water.

I got a 3min 20sec exposure in the end that was sharp. The composite is strong and was simple to process. The water needed a little motion blurring in two directions horizontally and vertically but just one pass each time. The horizon was removed and then the sky swapped for something more dramatic with some added motion blur.

WATER BREAKERS-SPURN POINT, EAST YORKSHIRE

A 30 second High Res image taken with Olympus. High Res gives a higher resolution image using pixel shift to move the sensor. 8 images are taken and stacked in camera, therefore an exposure of 4 minutes.

The processing was straightforward although involved some careful selections for the posts. The horizon was removed using a grey sampled to match very closely with the water and sky and a gradient layer added. I then brightened it towards the centre with Levels and History Brush to give the impression of soft backlighting to pull the viewers eye in.

Once I flattened the image I selected the free standing post on the right and inverted it so the rest of the image is a selection and used a paint brush to paint on the background posts, to give the impression of them receding and fading into the background.

The sky was flat, I chose to leave it as it was for harmony with the whole image.

BRIDGE TO NOWHERE-DUNBAR SCOTLAND

For this image I decided not to remove the horizon, I felt it did not need it.

It was a very calm day and the exposure only required 110 seconds to flatten the water more than it already was.

What was problematic were the railings on the left, they extended out of the frame and would lead the eye out unless I fixed it.

I made a small selection of the end of the railings before cropping it square and copied the selection. Then moving it over the perspective was wrong; I used the Move tool, whilst pressing Cmd I can then drag individual points to transform and twist the layer. Adding a mask I can then gently blend it in.

THE PINES-LOCH ASSYNT, SCOTLAND

Only a 3 second exposure, it was enough to remove texture from the water.

I did not want to remove the horizon, the background hills covered in snow are receding enough to add separation and give just a hint of detail.

The sky was fairly bland with a bright area on the left which was distracting. I used one of my own long exposure skies and very gently blended it in ensuring the brighter areas were behind the dead tree branches, making it easier to blend and retain the contrast of the tree and background.

ST MONANS PIER-SCOTLAND

It was a bright day and it needed a 15 stop ND giving a 7 minute exposure.

Processing was simple with this, I made sure there was plenty of contrast with the pier and the background.

Again the horizon was retained because of the hill in the background. The hill, Law Hill just outside North Berwick is a small feature I wanted to retain because the pier points towards it.

HOLY ISLAND-NORTHUMBELAND

Only a 4 second exposure taken at twilight, all I used was a polariser.

An empty sky gave a very nice colour image with soft twilight blues, and converting to black and white gave a very minimal image.

The two boats in the foreground are not sharp because of movement whereas the others are. Had they all been blurred it would have been a fail and I would have had to use a faster shutter speed and try to merge them. As it was I’m perfectly happy with the result.

MORE BREAKERS-SPURN POINT, EAST YORKSHIRE

Another water breaker image. They make ideal subjects because there is something very calming and peaceful about posts standing in very still water.

A 3 minute exposure gave the image I wanted, but the seaweed on the right post had motion blur. Another shot at 2 seconds and the seaweed was fine, so I used it to blend with the longer exposure image. It was on a bright part of the water with little detail so it blended well.

The horizon was removed with a sympathetic grey tone, and then another Radial Grad added to make the centre of the background a little brighter. Sometimes using a vignette will work well for this, although for this image I wanted to maintain the grey tones without making them darker in the corners.

No-one said images need to be light as most of the images above are. Dark images full of atmosphere and mood work well and I am very much drawn to them. They still use extended shutter speeds though they do become less minimal in nature. However, they do at least to me, start to meet my own requirements for Fine Art.

ELGOL-ISLE OF SKYE

The beautiful and enigmatic Elgol on the Isle of Skye always delivers great images.

This image with only a 10 second exposure really delivered on mood. Processing was very simple with darkening added to the sky to increase the foreboding mood of a storm approaching.

BOARDWALK-CLEETHORPES

A two minute exposure with a calm sea lapping over a boardwalk next to Cleethorpes Pier. It was an ideal opportunity to use a strong lead-in to a horizon faded out with a Reflective Grad and a mask for the posts. The mask took some work as you can imagine.

I used quite a strong vignette on this image to keep the attention in the centre.

DUNTULM CASTLE-ISLE OF SKYE

A 40 second exposure at twilight with a half moon in the sky.

Straight forward processing was all that was needed with a little lightening of the sky to enhance the silhouette of the castle. I would not consider this a minimal image at all, but I do like the mood.

CASTLEMARTIN SEA STACK-PEMBROKESHIRE

An 80 second exposure, very little was done other than removing the horizon. First I blended in a Reflective Grad and then used a Radial Grad to create a halo of light around the stack.

LOW LIGHTHOUSE-BURNHAM ON SEA

The composition here is very simple with a horizon on the bottom third, the lighthouse on the right third, and the line of the sand and sky mirroring each other into the image.

Exposure was just over two minutes for the sky.

I could have made this a very minimal image with a different approach to the processing, but I love the dark mood.