I See Sculptures by the Seaside

I wasn't really prepared for just how busy Sculptures by the Sea would be! Even on what was a cool, overcast afternoon with a howling wind! On the drive over rain even threatened to wreck the whole trip!  Luckily it didn't we were rewarded with a magnificent sunset!

What I ended up with is a very diverse set of shots, with many different styles- I've only put a selection of my favourites up because there was so many! I have taken some inspiration in this set from one of my heroes- Aquabumps (aka Eugene Tan) http://www.aquabumps.com, who shoots in the area daily. 

In other news, my blog is now fully compatible with mobile browsers so you can view my pics when you're out and about.  You can't hide!

Anyhow, hope you enjoy these!  Hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas and enjoys the break! I'm off work until mid January, and I hope to spend a lot of time behind the lens in that time, so catch you all soon!

Jimmy

Not strictly a sculpture, well it's more of a natural one i guess..

Instead of trying hide them, I left my feet well and truly in the frame!  I love the cool colours, it looks as peaceful as I felt, taking a quick breather on the rocks as the sun started to disappear.  I've adopted this self portrait of sorts, as my facebook profile pic.

I love the layers and imagery here, so many things happening- a surfer watches his mate riding a wave, from the rocks, others prepare to duck under, next layer is the imposing cliffs with spray pouring off them, overlooked by dozens of gravestones above.

 

Going all abstract on you..

And then the sunset I'd been desperately wishing for all afternoon!
 

These next two are special kind of shot called HDR, basically made up of many different layers, resulting in so many levels of tone and colour (48bit in this case) that your computer monitor can't actually display them until they are converted back to normal.  The result is an image much more like a human eye can see- hyper-realistic and with an overload of detail.  

I've uploaded these ones in the highest resolution possible so you can enjoy them as nature intended!  Look carefully and you will spot some flaws.. they don't work well when moving objects are involved.. ghosts of surfers and walkers are visible in both!

After golden hour, it was time to bring out my new secret weapon- a proper speedlight flash.  I'm definitely still learning how to use it and for now its fixed the camera (off-camera and special effects coming soon!).  It's definitely still hit and miss, and this resulted in many innocent bystanders probably being temporarily blinded and some photos being taken 4-5x before I nailed it!

This sculpture (is it meant to be a letter 'Q'?) is one of my favourites of the sculptures themselves, the flash effect is very subtle but has lit the installation perfectly giving it a sharp contrast against the dramatic sky behind without effecting the surroundings.

 In this case the flash didn't fire, however, I love the deep blue duo-tone image that I was left with instead.

As usual, I've saved my favourite shot until last.  I stood right out on the point (in howling wind- seriously strong enough to blow me over!) and shot back into the exhibition, perfectly silhouetted against the ominous sky, with just a trace of the sunset remaining behind on sculpture in the corner. I knew I liked this shot the moment I took it and saw it on my camera's little screen.