Dear Mother Nature,

December 19, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 19
California / Impressionism / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes

IMG_0229_DxO11FC1Blog1

I want to propose something. Here’s the background:

Last week, as I was driving home from an appointment, I crested the pass above Fremont and got a view across the bay and beyond the Santa Cruz Mountains toward the west. It looked promising for some dramatic horizon seascapes. Because I always have my pocket camera with me, I drove straight to the coast. My expectations mounted during the nearly an hour-and-a-half drive, but when I arrived, I was disappointed.

I wanted drama. You gave me monotone.

Now, we both know that I often work in subtle monotone, but on this particular occasion I didn’t want you to be a subtle seductress. I wanted you to be a drama queen. That’s what I expect in December.

So here’s my proposal: Later this month I’ll be on the coast for a while. If you give me the drama I seek, I’ll chill on my efforts to outdo you with post-processing drama.

Deal?

(Canon G5X II. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)

(Tech note: No filters were used here; only local adjustments in tone, contrast, microcontrast, and vibrancy.)

For more horizons, go to www.amagaphoto.com.

The Author

California based fine-art photographer featuring abstract, impressionist, and minimalist seascapes — near and distant — and floral-based images. Fine-art photography can be seen at www.amagaphoto.com All original images on this blog are copyright 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Michael Scandling. All rights reserved. No images on this site may be copied, duplicated, reused, published, or re-purposed in any way without express permission from the copyright owner, Michael Scandling.

19 Comments

  1. rabirius says

    I actually like the monotonous composition here. And I think the dark scene has something dramatic as well.
    I’m curious how an even more dramatic scene will look like.

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  5. sloppy buddhist says

    I went to a luminar editing workshop…I didn’t purchase the platform but they have skies over 400 of them so now photographers can layer those onto their images…seemed strange to me…but many there thought it was great 🤔🤓☺️ I like the real…this has a feeling to me Michael…it’s what you saw…thanks for sharing your process 🤓 have another creative day ~ smiles Hedy

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Michael Scandling says

      Thank you very very much. It does look like that doesn’t it? Actually the next-to-last version really took that charcoal look over the top. I dialed it down a bit for the final version. Of course all that detail actually was in the frame. It’s amazing what happens when you really crank the contrast on the sky.

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