July 10, 2010. San Gregorio Bluffs, San Mateo County, California.
On my way from Silicon Valley to San Francisco, I decided on the spur of the moment to take the scenic route. Web Cam showed some coastal clouds and I was hoping to get a sun-dappled sea. All I had with me was trusty MiniCam™ — my Canon G5X II. (The best camera is the one you have with you, so have something decent with you. That’s my motto.)
Clouds were insufficient for dappling, but the sea was pretty flat. Shimmering. Nice for Intentional Camera Motion.
The G5X II is very good for its size, but it does have its limitations. It has a built-in three-stop neutral density filter, which is nice but about three stops short of what I needed for ICM. Best shutter speed I could get without unrecoverable overexposure was 1/30. I had to twist fast to get any blur at all, so this is subtle ICM. (It’s also good exercise.)
Off the camera and on the box, the sky above was a mismatch for the streaky sliver below. Squinting at the monitor, the Muse thought the clouds should be softer to play quiet harmony with the sea. She was right.
(Canon G5X II. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.2; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
AMAGA Photography Blog 
I like these shots; as if I’m on the very last end of the visual world… one more step and I’ll disappear in spiritual infinity.. 🙂
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Thank you my friend. That is exactly the effect I’m trying to create. Next step is infinity.
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Muse was right! Wonderful ‘quiet harmony’. _/\_
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Michael: I suspect your readers come away with a-muse-ment whenever you mention her that way. And yes, it really is the same muse in there. (See https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=%20MUSE for the fascinating word history.)
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Fascinating word history. Thank you. She is an amazing muse. I love showing my work to a different set of eyes that I can trust to also have a seat of good judgment directly behind them. She also helps me remember grocery lists, which while not being poetry, do assist survival.
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The Muse is so often right. It’s a wonderful collaboration. We thank you.
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Aluminum indeed: you did an excellent job in getting the feel of burnished metal here.
The initialism ICM keeps reminding me of ICBMs, something quite different.
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Thank you very much. Yes, you were thinking of Intentional Camera, Bold Motion. I’m doing Intentional Camera Subtle Motion.
(I know you’re thinking of an intercontinental ballistic missile. But if one were to arrive on the scene, there would be a lot of bold motion.)
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I’m emboldened to say I like your bold better than ballistic. Subtle’s not bad, either.
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In the long run, I think you can get further with subtlety.
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Aluminum and burnished metal are both good descriptions, maybe also “mercurial,” in the sense of a shimmering, metallic appearance (and not unpredictable mood swings!)
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Thank you very much. This is aluminum or burnished metal as you say. Mercurial is a whole ’nother thing.
https://amagablog.com/2020/04/08/a-remarkable-day-quicksilver-sea/
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Like finely polished metal. And sweet gradient.
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Thank you. That’s what the picture showed me and I nudged it along in editing to make it more so.
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the muse was right and Michael, I know this area. The worse fog I had ever driven in was in 2003 along the coast from san fran to san jose – I went so slow in my little Honda.
oh and LOVE the post title – aluminum sea ( with metallic glow)
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Thank you very much. Just between you and me, the sky was crystal clear with a few distinct clouds, but the Muse and I needed it to be different… To me, the original file is just a starting point. But that is pretty much what the water looked like.
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oh your art came out great then, ha
i could almost see this artsy photo on a wall in one of those modern upscale apartments with huge walls.
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Thanks very much. That actually is the idea.
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😊✌️
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Perfect title, Michal. That lighter center tone draws the eye right in. Beautiful image.
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Ah, thank you. You’re on to me. 😊🙏
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Another stunning shot, Michael. Nice work.
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Thank you very much.
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Yes, aluminum. 🙂 Beautiful.
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Thank you. I’ve always liked the look of brushed aluminum.
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yes fine…and shimmery feels just right ~ smiles hedy ☺️
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Thanks very much! 😊
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