stephencoppinger

Wreck of the Steamer Janie Seddon Motueka

Wreck of the Steamer Janie Seddon Motueka

Originally commissioned as a mine layer, the Janie Seddon served in both wars. She eventually became a fishing vessel but was unsuitable due to her short cruisi...
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Originally commissioned as a mine layer, the Janie Seddon served in both wars. She eventually became a fishing vessel but was unsuitable due to her short cruising range (in fact, one feels the New Zealand government was sold a pup right from the start). She was eventually deliberately sunk at her moorings in Motueka Harbour in 1953.

I made the mistake of climbing down to try and get the shot and sank to my knees in the most obnoxious primaeval group that you can imagine. I smelt horrible and stayed that way for several hours. I hated my own company. What we do for our art. Nikon D800 Tamron 70-200 f-2.8. 1-80 sec at F-11 Iso 320
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Jan, 2016

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Landscapes In Black And White Photo Contest

Peer Award

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

Outstanding Creativity

Magnificent Capture

All Star

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo on a day trip that I had planned. I was working in Nelson and wished to see some more of the area while there. I had no plans other than wanting to see what I could find. So, I took off in my rental car, stopping to pick up hitchhikers on the way. Some of them were going to split Apple rock so I took them there. Initially, they were a little bit alarmed that I was so ready to change my plans, not realising that I didn't have any. From there, I wandered along the coast to Motueka harbour, where the wreck of the Jamie Seddon lies. Originally commissioned as a mine layer, the Janie Seddon served in both world wars. She ended up becoming a fishing vessel but was unsuitable due to her short cruising range. It seems like the New Zealand government was probably sold a pup right from the start. She was eventually sunk at her moorings in the harbour in 1953 and has been rotting away since then. I made the mistake of climbing down onto the title bed to get this shot and promptly sank into the most offensive primaeval glop that you can imagine. It smelled appalling even when dry and stayed that way for several hours. After taking the shots, I retired to a local café to try and revive myself. I got some funny looks going into the toilet and even funnier coming out. What we do for our art, eh!

Time

Taken with available lighting at about midday. In other words about the worst time to take the photograph, but if you're there, you are there. That is the most important thing.

Lighting

It was a bright, clear day (as it so often is in New Zealand). This provides its own challenges and I deliberately underexposed to retain the informationIn the shadows. My D 800 seems to work best set up like this. In order to find out how your camera performs you need to get out and take a variety of shots at different exposures, judging which gives you the most digital information in a raw file. The more information you have, the more you can manipulate the file.

Equipment

Nikon D800, handheld, using a Tamron 70 – 200 F 2.8 lens. 1/80th of a second f-stop 11, iso 320

Inspiration

I guess the simple answer is the scene. I had set out with no fixed destination in mind. I had not 'pre-visualised' the scene but spent some time walking around trying to find a good vantage point (and getting covered in glutinous smelly mud while doing so). I knew there was a wreck on the coast and I wanted to see it if I could, so I confess that I had been heading in that rough direction deliberately. I had limited time and made the best of the situation as it was. In a perfect world, I would have waited for sunset or the 'golden hour'

Editing

The original image was in colour and I converted it to black and white in Lightroom. I adjusted a number of variables, including banging the highlights and variables hard over and playing with the colour saturation, finally adding contrast and some clarity. I did crop it too. I feel that many of the images that we see on ViewBug are overprocessed - personally, I prefer photographs that reflect the reality of the world. This does make them sometimes less attractive than highly vivid images, much as TVs in the showroom are set to uber brightness and saturation to catch your eye. So, if anyone has voted for this image, thank you very much indeed.

In my camera bag

have a LowePro bag that I now use. For many years I used a Billingham bag that I still have and use. Taht bag recently had it's 38th birthday! Both bags have been thrown in the washing machine with no apparent ill effects. I used an Olympus OM4 for many years when shooting film. Sadly, many of the slides did not survive storage and transfer to New Zealand (or poor digital scanning). I am now a Nikon shooter. Having competing interests for my money, I am using third party lenses as well as Nikon lenses. I tend to carry a Nikkor 14 to 20 wide-angle, a 50 mil Nikon kit lens and a Tamron 70 to 200 F2 .8 bazooka. I have the excellent Tamron 150 to 600 lens and grab it if I am going to be doing wildlife photography or need significant zoom.

Feedback

Get out and take photographs! Although not meticulously planned, this image was the consequence of my deliberately planning to take the time to practice my photography. Setting aside time can be difficult, and many of us take a lot of photographs on holiday and few in between. Certainly, that was the case for me for many years. But, like everything else, the more you practice, the better you get at it. I was recently able to return to Nepal, which was a big ticket item (https://www.coppinger.blog/not-epic-trek-kingdom-mustang/ ). However, more practically, I have bought a small tent and some kit so that I can travel to places in New Zealand and get up at some ungodly hour of the morning to capture the shot. I am setting aside time to do this, whcih is vital. I am lucky in that I am not a professional photographer, who has to make his or her daily bread. Spare a thought for many of them, who long to get out and be creative but have to do the bread and butter stuff, every day and to a high standard. But you don't need to trek miles to capture good shots. I have a good friend, who is a professional. He often wanders around locally, producing images that are striking and thoughtful, without travelling hundreds of miles or taking mountains of kit with him.

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stephencoppinger

stephencoppinger

Wreck of the Steamer Janie Seddon Motueka

Originally commissioned as a mine layer, the Janie Seddon served in both wars. She eventually became a fishing vessel but was unsuitable due to her short cruisi... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow stephencoppinger

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Originally commissioned as a mine layer, the Janie Seddon served in both wars. She eventually became a fishing vessel but was unsuitable due to her short cruisi...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.