Motif Number 1 Reflection
Motif #1...location & building was used in the movie The Proposal (the scene with the male stripper!) & is considered by many to be one of the often painted & p...
Read more
Motif #1...location & building was used in the movie The Proposal (the scene with the male stripper!) & is considered by many to be one of the often painted & photographed building in America. Located in Rockport, Massachusetts. This photo was taken at the end of the day about an hour before sunset.
Read less
Read less
Aug, 2015Views
76
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Judge Favorite
Legendary Award
2020 Choice Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken In Rockport, Massachusetts right off an easily accessed parking lot (shhh. don't tell anyone). The building is Motif Number One and is one of the most photographed/painted/drawn buildings in the country (or so I'm told). I didn't know this at the time - only that I was personally drawn to it. This was my first summer running around with my first DSLR and it is still one of my favorites. I wasn't able to actually process it for another year though since I didn't know how to process RAW files yet! P.S. I try to return to this spot every year...and last year I finally asked a local fisherman what is in the building. His answer? It's used for storage! And here's an interesting fact - this building can be seen in a little movie called The Proposal.Time
This was taken about an hour before sunset, handheld (since I didn't even own a tripod yet...oh, the good old days!). I remember really wanting those posts in the lower left & not even realizing yet that the cloud reflections would actually be visible in the photo. But my favorite part of this image is the quality of the light on the red building. So magical.Lighting
The lighting was provided by a sun setting over my left shoulder. With bright blue skies and low, fluffy clouds the effect was perfect, but I can't really take credit for the light. Sometimes it is just luck.Equipment
This was shot with my first DSLR, a Nikon D7000 (I loved that camera!) & a kit lens. No tripod, no flash. At the time it was my ONLY gear!Inspiration
As I walked around this beautiful little town for the first time I was just snapping away, so many gorgeous New England sights...until I saw this gorgeous red building with lobster buoys jutting into the ocean. So unique. I walked around looking for a cool angle or way to frame the shot, which took me so long that the harsh afternoon sun began to set. I waited a bit to see how it would look once it hit the building and was rewarded not only with a sunlit subject but picturesque reflections in the water as the ocean began to still itself.Editing
This was before I had a good understanding of post-processing so I did some very basic RAW processing in Lightroom (contrast, sharpening, etc.). I took it over to Nik Color Effects to add a little Glamour Glow because I was going through a stage at the time!! haha Thankfully, I wasn't too heavy-handed with it.In my camera bag
My bag has change since this image. Gotten more complicated. If I'm on a photography landscape trip far from home I take my Nikon D850 with my D750 as a backup. I will always have my Nikon 70-200 f4 (sharp but light) and my Nikon 16-35 f4 (also sharp & light), plus polarizers and a tripod. If I am doing astro photography I generally pack the Nikon 14-24 f2.8 as well. If it's a day trip, I generally only take the D850 with my Tamron 24-70 f2.8 & maybe one of the Nikon zooms in a small sling bag. I have a lightweight Really Right Stuff tripod that I only use when I know I will be doing long-exposure photography. That is the piece of equipment that I resisted purchasing the longest, but shouldn't have. Really improved my photography.Feedback
The building is always interesting, but the best images of this one are the ones that have interesting skies or light. My suggestion for a shot like this, or any shot along the ocean is to time it with interesting weather/clouds or just before/after a sunset/sunrise.The other advise is to be patient. The area tends to crawl with people. Just wait them out and you'll be rewarded since most tend to clear out just as the light wanes or the sun disappears!
