Jon Reaves Photography: beaches

Showing posts with label beaches. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

From the Archives - Grand Manan Island...

I'm continuing to re-edit my digital shots from Grand Manan, Canada this week. There are literally thousands of photos going back to 2009. The first shot below was made on Seal Cove beach during my first trip to the small island. The blurry figure on the left of this long exposure is actually my wife. All of these images are from 2009.

Dusk at Seal Cove Beach, Grand Manan, Canada

Rock and Ocean, Grand Manan, Canada

Low Tide at Dawn, Seal Cove Beach, Grand Manan, Canada

Fishing Boat Off Seal Cove, Grand Manan, Canada

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

24 Day Project Film Reveal...Days Nineteen Through Twentyfour

September 19th - Sanderling

I managed to sneak away at sunrise on day 19. I drove over to Sunset Beach, NC. The beach was quiet and mostly vacant, except for about a dozen sanderlings. They are very quick little birds and are difficult to photograph, especially on film! This one stopped briefly before prodding its little bill into the sand, just enough time for a shot.

September 20th - Ancient Oak

My wife and I were staying with her father in Little River, SC. Before we left for our home in the NC mountains, I needed to get my shot for the day. I simply took an early morning walk down the street in the direction of the docks for about a half mile to find this huge live oak. It must be 200-300 years old! My wide angle lens could only capture about a third of the tree from underneath it.

September 21st - Lichen on White Pine Bark

The misty and foggy morning of day 21 brought me back to the pine grove. I decided to include some more forest texture. Lichen thrives in our damp little hollow.

September 22nd - Wild Turkeys in Donelly's Pasture

This group of wild turkeys frequent a cow pasture not far from our home. I took my F100 and telephoto zoom lens with me in the car while driving my wife to work. I stopped and shot out of the car window. This didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped. I was feeling rushed as cars started to come up behind me, so I snapped a few shots and moved on.

September 23rd - Crab Apples

The south-facing ridge behind my home has some of the tallest maples and oaks I've ever seen. I climbed the slope through thick thorny brambles hoping to capture a nice landscape of that old growth forest in the golden morning light. When I noticed these little crab apples littering the ground and the contrast they made with the green moss, I couldn't pass it up.

September 24th - Heron on Bass Lake

Here we are, the last photograph of the 24 day film project! I returned to Bass Lake to find this immature great blue heron wading through the lily pads. My heart was beating a bit fast. Was this the final photo, or should I pass this subject up and look for another? When the bird tilted its elegant neck, revealing its full profile, I released the shutter. I felt pretty good about it.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Sunset Beach and Film Project Update...

My Grandfather had his 80th birthday celebration this past weekend, so my wife, the dogs, and me took a trip to the NC coast. It was a short weekend full of family activities, but I managed to sneak away early Saturday morning to do some light stalking at Sunset Beach. I took the 35mm and one of my digital bodies. This was the first time I'd seen the beach all year. It was great to finally smell the salty air and watch those Atlantic waves roll in.

This was also day 19 of my 24 day film project. I decided to choose a more risky and difficult subject to photograph on film, my favorite little wading bird, the sanderling. They move so quickly it is difficult to keep the auto focus locked on, but I think I managed to get a shot. We'll just have to wait and see. On Sunday, day 20, I took a stroll down the street to a huge and gnarly live oak. It must be 200-300 years old! My wide-angle lens could only capture about a third of the tree's branches and canopy from underneath. It should make for a pretty interesting exposure...again, we'll just have to wait and see. I made my 21st exposure for the project this morning. Just 3 more days to go! By the way, even though I shot several exposures on day 11 and then changed the rules (see video in previous post), I've managed to only shoot one exposure a day for most of the days since. I'll save the stories for later.

Sanderlings

Sunrise at Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach Pier

Wood Stork in Flight

Wood Stork Dance, This stork almost landed on that little egret!

Wood Storks Wading

Friday, June 12, 2015

The Land of Fire and Ice II, The Film Shots...

Iceland is a magical place, a geologist's paradise, a photographer's dream. The landscape is dramatic, changing every few miles on any stretch of the country's few main roads. There are waterfalls (massive waterfalls), geothermal hot springs, active volcanoes, grassy plains, rugged peaks, and everything in between. The people are quite pleasant and the pace of life, even in Reykjavik, is very relaxed. Needless to say, I enjoyed the experience. I hope to travel there again soon.

In my last post I included images from my point and shoot. Many of my favorite shots in that series were actually taken by my wife, Alison. I shot 35mm film (Ilford HP5+ and Kodak Ektar 100) on my Canon EOS 3, mostly with a 17-40mm f4L (if you must know). It was completely necessary to have this weather sealed equipment for Iceland...both me and the camera were soaked from rain, sleet, and waterfall mist the entire time. I've been anxiously awaiting the return of my film from the lab and I finally have my scans! Due to the high dynamic range and contrast of the film stocks that I use, very little post processing was done to these photos (and none at all for some) and no sharpening was needed. I hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I enjoyed making them.