FMcardl

Rocky Waterscape, solid state

Cedar Beach, L.I., N.Y.

Cedar Beach, L.I., N.Y.
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COOLPIX P80

settings

Aperture f/4.0 ISO 108 Shutter 10/667

upload_date

Mar, 2013

Views

246

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Awards

Peer Award

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank week 2

Behind The Lens

Location

Cedar Beach, Long Island, N.Y. is the general location. It is on the North Shore of L.I., about 60 miles East of Manhattan. Included in this icy scenario are boulders which form the natural boundary between the sandy, publicly-accessible beach, and a strait of salt-water which separates this beach, corresponding to the town of Miller Place, from the next beach westward and its associated saltwater estuaries around Port Jefferson.

Time

As best I can recall it was sometime between noon and 3 PM EST.

Lighting

The only detail attended to, was not to use much ISO.

Equipment

I was using a Nikon camera, a "Coolpix" P-80. This was a sub-SLR camera; designed, I suppose, for people whose status is still too much on the amateur side, to commit funds to a larger and more expensive camera. ( Two years after this photo was taken, I felt ready for an SLR and purchased a Nikon D-90). With the P-80, there is no separate lens; and neither did I use a tripod - one major reason being, I made a two-hour railroad trip from NYC out to LI on an intensely cold day, drawn by the prospect of nature still and frozen rather than shifting and in need of stabilizing from a tripod. Traveling light was also a priority; capped off by an aversion to the prospect of hands having to do anything besides control the camera --and I suppose, not owning a tripod played some minor role.

Inspiration

There are cold days, and then again, days so atypically cold you don't know quite what to expect. This is an area I frequent from Spring to late Fall only; but the possession of a camera, made it worthwhile to see these surroundings in their winter aspect, and lock in the visual memory. Well, that got me from NYC to LI. As for a particular choice of subject the silent, frozen rocks spoke to me, and I walked onto sand next to them, looking out not to get feet wet - I thought, maybe instead I should head for the manmade part of the Cedar Beach complex, part of which is the fishing pier you see, with its dot of a pedestrian looking down in amazement at all the ice. Then, I focused on the overhead walkway with its underlayer of salt-water ice -and thought, "Billy Goats Gruff!" --that is, the (Scandinavian?) folk tale about the billy goat brothers' encounter with a troll-creature hiding under the bridge that they crossed to get to fresh pasture, hoofs going trip-trap! on the wooden slats. I looked around in case there might be a Cedar Beach troll -( stranger things have happened ?) - and finally, took a picture from a troll's-eye point of view, gazing upward toward tasty billy-goats.

Editing

Yes, a bit. I do not have Photoshop; but on my Mac laptop, have iPhoto, which has a few editing tools. I realize these are simple when I see friends embarking on all kinds of magic with photoshop; but then again, someone at "iPhoto" has put very useful tools for easy access, using whatever algorithms they have developed; so that your not-there-yet kind of person can get instant improvement by clicking on things like "enhance". (Later, I acquired Photoshop Elements and hope there is enough lifetime to get into tutorials. Bet with some expertise an image of a troll could be added to the photo).

In my camera bag

A canister with pressurized air as marketed for keeping the lens clear. A soft optical kind of cloth. A detachable polarizing filter for lens. Actually, since I like the waterbirds - gulls are so accessible and don't get paranoid about being photographed - most of my thinking about gear is directed to snacks that make for minimal residue on your own hands.

Feedback

It seems to me that the occasions where I've gone out in very cold weather, some photos have this certain quality , call it "noise-free", that they eye detects in some way, though the technical basis, I could not spell out in any enlightening way. And it is not anything I am doing beyond taking advantage of the setting; rather, that the camera itself must have specs, as to "noise" as a function of temperature. ( I suppose there would also be cautions to be observed; as to how long a camera can be expected to function, in low temperatures).

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FMcardl

FMcardl

Rocky Waterscape, solid state

Cedar Beach, L.I., N.Y.

Behind The Lens

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