November 27, 2019 — San Mateo County Coast
The storm was on its way out, heading east to make headlines. This was its last hurrah; clear sky was visible through the last squall.
I’ve mentioned that many (most?) of my influences worked in paint, not pixels. Chief among them is JMW Turner. To me, his later work changed the world of art definitively — to me, he is the father of Impressionism.
Toward the end of August, my wife and I wandered the Turner galleries at the Tate in London. It was like swimming in Turner. I basked. I marveled. I studied from across the room and from inches away. I came out drenched.
A few days later, we were in St. Paul’s Cathedral. As I stood among the tombs, I thought that Turner must be buried nearby. I looked down in deep thought, and what did I see beneath my feet? JMW Turner.
This image unabashedly shows some of Turner’s influence. I used a post-processing technique I developed several years ago, but haven’t used so explicitly for quite a while. It just seemed right for this image.
(Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
AMAGA Photography Blog 
How amazing that you were standing with Turner as you wondered.
I like the little sliver of hope shining through the gloom.
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Thank you. It was amazing. Sliver of hope shining through the gloom. Well said. I shall plagiarize you.
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Love this image! And the story. Great first line: The storm was on its way out, heading east to make headlines.
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Thanks Frank. I love a good lede.
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The traces of falling rain add a little verticality to this strongly horizontal image (another light sandwich).
That’s a happy coincidence at St. Paul’s. You’re fortunate to have gone swimming in Turner at the Tate. I recently bought a DVD documentary about him at the local library for $1 but haven’t watched it yet.
My inner semanticist keeps nagging me about the commonly used phrase post-processing. Doesn’t photographic processing necessarily occur post (i.e. after) picture-taking, thereby making the post in post-processing redundant?
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Thank you very much. As I look through my work, it seems that I specialize in light sandwiches. I never miss an opportunity to bask in Turner’s work. I’m glad you got the documentary. There was a feature film a number of years ago called “Mr. Turner.” I highly recommend it. I agree with your inner semanticist. The term was developed by the Department of Redundancy Department, I believe. However, since the term has garnered wide acceptance, I use it to prevent ambiguity. Even though I shouldn’t have to.
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Your work is fine art… painterly and I connect to that…also JMW Turner paintings and prints are beautiful…I appreciate your art/photography Michael ☺️ have a creative day 💫
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Thanks very much — and the same to you. 😊
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I’m happily entering into this as you entered into the Turners – though I know it’s not as visceral an experience. The serendipity in St. Pauls was wonderful. This hovers between watercolor and linen for me – I see a watercolor and I see fabric – of course, it could be an oil but somehow I see linen. The smudginess and warmth are done perfectly; I’d love to hear a little about the technique but I understand it’s your baby. Anyway, it’s just too lovely. You’re going to print it, yes? Pretty big? Then you have to decide what to print it on….good decisions to wrestle with.
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Thank you very, very much. I’ll always swim in Turner, given the opportunity. This is definitely a candidate for printing. Hint: Layers in PS, using various settings of smart blur and smart sharpen in blends.
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Very awesome, very atmospheric.. wonderful! And I was able to enlarge 🙂
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Thanks very much!
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Wonderful, strong image, Michael – we stand in awe of Turner – and if you’ve not seen it, I recommend the film “Mr Turner”. A 🙂
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Thank you very much. I have seen it. Would like to see it again. I recommended it to another blogger.
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