The three great elemental sounds in nature are
the sound of rain,
the sound of wind in a primeval wood,
and the sound of outer ocean on a beach.
~ Henry Beston
We spent the night at the coast this past weekend.I love the ocean.
I don't think I could ever live in a state that didn't have the ocean on one of its borders.
Not ever.
We went to the South Jetty in the Ft. Stevens State Park.
I love this location.
We were hoping for a nice sunset, but this is the best we got.
So, what do you do when expectations aren't met?
With landscape photography it's a bit more disappointing as you have traveled
a distance to be at a particular place at a certain time for the 'party',
but mother nature didn't get the invitation.
Don't cry. It's all good.
First, just enjoy the place you've found yourself...free of expectations.
Second, if you're intent on making a picture, there is always something to photograph.
Readjust your 'sights' and look around with new eyes.
You'll see something.
Maybe even something better than what you were planning to capture in the first place!
Regarding the top image: I loved the vantage point
we had after climbing onto the rocks.
We were inline with the dilapidated wooden trestle, rocks, and the water, rather than viewing them from above via the observation tower.
If you've been visiting the blog, you know I'm a fan of long exposure water photography.
For me, the contrast between the textures of the hard rocks and wood and the
soft water worked to create an intriguing compositional element.
I realized in researching elements of composition, that I had layers of the four 'elements'
in this image corresponding to:
Earth (rock), Wood (trestle), Water (sea), and Fire (sun).
I didn't think about this at the time I was making the image...maybe I did subconsciously...
In post-processing, I cropped out most of the sky except for the wee bit
of light at the top to provide context.
Maybe I don't even need that...thoughts?
I do like the contrast between the warmer sky and cooler water, and keeping
the bit of sky in provides that contrast.
Below: An intact trestle near the Jetty.
Another favorite spot. We were able to walk all the way to the water's edge in the grasses.
I need to work this location more...we'll be back!
Let's round out the 'elements' theme of this post with a few links on
elements of composition and strong imagery:
I especially liked this article:
p.s. if you visit the jetty, be prepared for wind...it is always windy!
Bring plenty of microfibre cloths to dry off your lens/filters and glasses if you wear them...
the mist and splashes (yes, we were that close!) were unrelenting!
Carry a small water bottle, too...the sea spray is horribly sticky
on lens/filters/glasses.
