Coast of Maine

[Boatman]

My wife Dee and I just got back yesterday from a nine day cruise in Casco Bay, Maine. I shot over 800 images and have a lot of good images. Needless to say it will take some time to get these all fixed up and start printing. Here's a quick a sample. And yes, that is our boat, Cinderella, a Bristol 29.9 sloop.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Homer,

That's not what I imagined being the vessel you 'sailed' your cruise in - but very nice.

You wouldn't get me in one though; I can't cope with any sea swell, I'm alright on water in a small lake, but the sea; forget it

Nice pic, no swell here

I look forward to seeing more,

[Boatman]

Dee and I are lucky, we don't get seasick, or at least we never have. I got up before sunrise on the 12th, which was my 60th birthday and a lucky day. Aside from being on vacation in a beautiful place with good weather, the day dawned with a little fog that made the photography spectacular.

This is "The Nubble", a 1909 octagonal house built on a ledge off Brustins Island. I have a half dozen worthy shots of this wonderful subject. I looked the house up on the web and found surprisingly little about it. It certainly has some serious character!

[Mike Buckley]

I like both images, Homer. I would like the second one more if you had allowed more space at the top and bottom. I would be so tempted to try removing the horizon in the second one. The fog almost did that on it's own, so a little digital manipulation might be in order.

[KHarmon]

I really like both images but number 2 is my favorite. The reflection on the water really makes the image for me.

KHarmon

[ucci]

Can I please be indolent and just put 'ditto' for the comments of Kris and Mike? Ta!

[Mike Buckley]

I forgot to mention that the reflection in the second image is much darker than the source. Unless you have an artistic reason for making them different, they would be the same in a natural setting. Indeed, they are the same in the first image and the results are more satisfying for me.

[Boatman]

So a couple of comments here. First of all, I was in a dinghy floating around with little control on my direction. Forget about a tripod and careful framing! But what I lacked in precision I made up in volume; I took about 80 shots. I have at least four other others that are equivalent to the one posted. Attached is another, shot on the shady side of the building while the fog was a bit thicker. A different but still interesting shot.

As for the darker reflection, I didn't modify that and looking at the unadjusted .dng file, the reflection is darker. Of course, I could brighten it up a bit in Lr. I'll try it and see if it helps.

Thanks for looking and commenting. The building certainly is a fine subject.

[Stinky]

Very nice, especially #2

[Cantab]

Good shots. My favourite is the first -- the way you caught the dead calm and what looks like a fog bank in the distance.

[ucci]

The shady shot of the octagonal building is the one that does it for me. (But then I have been told I am a shady character! ) Nice capture which I like. It seems to have more 'character' than the first octagonal house post which I find very bland by comparison.
Without knowing exactly what was there, maybe I would have liked a little less cropping on the RHS where the platform extends out from the rock. But for someone bobbing around the seven seas in a tiny craft, under potential threat of tsunami engulfment, you have done a pretty good job all round. But what is this I read? You didn't have a tripod set up in the dingy!!!!! tut, tut, that's not good. The tripod police will be after you for a please explain note.
And if you were encumbered by a life jacket whilst shooting, which no doubt your were to comply with boating regulations, then your efforts are even more admirable, admiral!

[Boatman]

Ken, You make good fun of the fact that it was not exactly rough weather, but still, being in the dinghy presents some challenges you might not expect unless you've done it, i.e. - It keeps turning, just as you get the image framed up and you go to squeeze off a shot without any motion, the boat swivels a bit and you are out of frame. You kind of have to pan your shot. Then of course, you have to deal with the rocking of the boat, which in this case was not much, but it is always there. Another issue is that if you move in the boat you will create your own waves, which in a very clear reflection, you do not want. (you can see these in shot #2). If you paddle to a new position, you have to wait for things to settle down before you can begin shooting and by then you're out of position again! Finally, due to the fog and low dew point at the time, everything in the boat was wet. Touch anything and you have to wipe your hands with a towel before you can use the camera for fear of salt water on it.

One tip for people shooting from small boats is to bring an empty cooler with a tight lid as a 'dry box' to keep your camera gear in. Bring a good small towel and keep it in there too. The cooler I have does not have a latching lid, but that would be highly advantageous should I ever manage to flip or swamp the dinghy.

[Polar01]

Homer: love the two of the octagonal house, looking at the comments about the reflection, I tend to like that it was darker. To me it sets the shot off, if it was as they say should be the same or lighter it would not have that eye catching feature. You state that that is how it was naturally, that is not uncommon when you are shooting at a low angle, with early morning light.

Cheers:

Allan