All posts tagged: abstract seascape

Take It To The Limit

March 14, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 20
Abstract / Iceland / Impressionism / Inspiration / Landscape / Monochrome / Photo Log / Photography

January 26, 2020 — The Thórbergur Center, Hali Country Hotel, South Coast, Iceland In a recent blog post, Bruce Percy articulated an aim I’ve had for quite a long time. I’ll quote him: “For me, a picture isn’t about what is there. It’s not about trees, snow, sky, mountains, rivers, etc, etc. Instead, photos are about graphical forms and tone. They are pictures instead of photos. It’s a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless.” To […]

Return to the Sea 3: Soft/Set

August 3, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 17
Abstract / California / Impressionism / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes / Sunset

February 17, 2018; Big Sur Coast, California. What do you do when Mother Nature serves you a blah sky? Not a cloud. No fog to speak of. Just boring blue sky. You improvise in post-processing, that’s what you do. This is one of two treatments of this frame. Many pixels’ lives were forever changed. (Nikon D750, Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR zoom. RAW processing in DxO Pro, Editing in Adobe Photoshop. More fine-art photography at […]

Drawn Away 2: Sprite Rising

July 4, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 22
Abstract / Photography / Seascapes / Sunset

Today, in the United States, we celebrate Independence Day. It’s the anniversary of the day in 1776 when our forefathers said, “enough.” We declared ourselves independent of tyranny. We, as a culture, have been — and remain —  fiercely independent. We carry that spirit of independence as a badge of honor. And we should. We fought hard for these values: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they […]

Distant Shores

February 14, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 13
Abstract / Impressionism / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes

December 7 and 8, 2018, Point Reyes National Seashore. Horizons are beautiful in their simplicity. Engaging in their subtle complexity. Their moods are varied. They have endless color and texture possibilities. For all these reasons I never tire of them. But there’s another reason as well. Horizons are calming. Soothing. Stabilizing. Horizons are therapeutic. Stand on a bluff looking outward over the sea for only a few minutes, and if you’re like most people you’ll […]

Unfinished Turner / Unfinished Turn

February 6, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 19
Abstract / Impressionism / Inspiration / Landscape / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes

June 14, 2011, the Tate Britain, London. If I had to pick one favorite artist, it would be J.M.W. Turner. I think of his work as the bridge between Romanticism and Impressionism and in my opinion he often outdid both. I find his later work, especially, to be transcendent. In June 2011, my wife, nephew, and I went to Europe to visit family, surf (one of us), hike, and absorb culture. The first stop was […]

Rothko/Reflection

January 12, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 4
Abstract / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes / Uncategorized

April 10, 2015, Hurricane Point, Big Sur Coast. My dog and I decided that conditions were right for a ride down the coast. Travels with Chewy. And Nikon. We made it as far south as Hurricane Point. Crystal clear. The horizon went halfway to Hawaii. And so did the sunbeam. Chewy and I looked out to sea. He turned and looked to me as if to say, “this is special.” A sea dog. A wise […]

The Blue Muse

January 10, 2019
by Michael Scandling
comments 4
Abstract / Inspiration / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes

This is one of my favorite seascape horizon photographs: How Blue Can You Get? Some photos present themselves to me on a platter. Some are made. This is both—although in this case the platter was more of a blue plate special. February 7, 2013, Sonoma County Coast. I was driving up the coast with my wife, looking forward to a winter weekend on the bluffs. The driver in me was trying to beat an impending […]

Ab • Stract

December 24, 2018
by Michael Scandling
comments 4
Abstract / Inspiration / Landscape / Photography / Seascapes

Abstract comes from Latin abstrahere “to pull away, detach.” Abstraction pulls away and detaches from the representational and moves into the conceptual. These were taken at Point Reyes near Chimney Rock. The views are 180° apart, taken within minutes of each other. One looks back toward Drake’s Bay and the hills of the Point Reyes peninsula. The other looks out to sea. (Nikon D850, Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2.) More fine art photography at www.amagaphoto.com