<<< o >>>Fe2O3 #2 25 comments + add yours
chromasia.com

Ok, here's the second of my latest 'rusty bits of St. Anne's Pier' series. Of the three this is probably the most conventional, but I like the richness of the rust so didn't want to convert it to a toned image or play around with the colours. Tomorrow's though, by way of contrast, is a toned black and white, and in some ways is probably my favourite of the three.

Oh, and this is my 600th entry. In the scale of things I guess that it's probably not too significant a milestone – it's a long way till I reach 1000 entries – but it's a satisfying feeling nonetheless. That said, it's a rather poor effort compared to yours: as I write this you're posted 13,472 comments and have written 522,695 words :-)

And finally: it seems as though I may be having some server problems – specifically '500 Internal Server' errors. Could you if you have any trouble when you leave your comment?

11.54am on 12/8/05

Canon 20D

EF 17-40 f/4L USM

17mm (27mm equiv.)

f/6.3

1/250

aperture priority

+0.0

evaluative

100

no

RAW

C1 Pro

minor

captured
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?

 
3x2 + piers [St. Annes] + fylde coast [scenic]
comment by dJeyL at 07:25 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

Love your colours. What I call the 'Nightingale sky' is always amazing.

comment by Joe Lencioni at 07:43 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

Although I think I like the previous one better, this one reminds me a lot of Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Nice shot.

comment by Dave at 07:45 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

I like the conventional look a lot of the time--nature got those colors pretty perfect. By the way, when was St. Anne's Pier in its heyday? Congrats on # 600. We're all looking forward to the next 400 . . . .

comment by Arthur at 08:48 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

Beautiful. Definitely my favourite type of shot—high contrast, deep saturation.

Did you mask the foreground? It reminds me of Monument Valley...

comment by mehdi at 08:53 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

fe203 is a lovely...great color and 3d effect.

comment by djn1 at 08:53 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

Joe: it reminds me of Close Encounters :-)

Dave: I don't know.

Arthur: yes. I used a masked Curves layer and Selective Color to darken the sky.

comment by owen at 09:29 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

Like a mini sandstone landscape. Superb.

comment by Neil at 09:47 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

I really like the colours in this shot! I also like the bits right at the front that look just like sharp teeth! Really nice texture too.

comment by George at 10:00 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

If you look at it from a glance, it almost seems like it it a picture of a real valley in Utah somewhere. Upon closer inspection it loses that effect, but then there is a ton of detail to draw you eye all around it.

Super cool!

comment by Ed at 11:58 PM (GMT) on 13 August, 2005

Always good to see the effects of time on metal!

comment by Magnus von Koeller at 12:08 AM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

I like this a lot more than yesterday's shot. I like the blue in the blurred sky. It adds to the "unrealness" of the scene. Also, I think the texture of the rust is brought out much better. Overall, nice shot but not one of my favorites.

comment by /\/\J at 01:14 AM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

love the sky and DOF. the rusted chunks look like mini mountains. its great! very cool

comment by owen b at 02:39 AM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Yep, this is even better than yesterdays. Looking forward to seeing tomorrows! It reminds me of Close Encounters too - it looks like a model landscape set in front of a painted backdrop of the beach and sky.

When you do a Curves mask do you Gaussian Blur it, and if so by how much? I set it to about 150ish in general. Just picking up tips from a master... Cheers!

comment by Velviapix at 03:41 AM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Dave,
Another excellent image.
I was so impressed by the richness of the rust and the sky behind, that I can't wait to see tomorrow's B&W.

comment by susan b. at 04:39 AM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Before I read the comments, I was thinking it looked like a rusty Devil's Tower. But guess I'm a bit late to appear original in thought. It is quite a beautiful take on the subject matter. And the color is superb. Well done, as always.

comment by Michael S. at 08:37 AM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Just gorgeous - I'm wondering if just a tiny pop of fill-flash might have opened up the large shadow on the "tower"?

comment by Michael S. at 08:42 AM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Oh - congrats on 600 - I haven't seen all 600, but what I have seen is just an amazing accomplishment on your part! How on earth do you find time to not only find and shoot these great images, but manipulate and post them, day after day??

comment by Andy Schonfelder at 02:31 PM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Fantastic, as usual. Do you use a polarizer or any other filter on the lens to get your skys so rich, or is it all Photoshop shenanigans? Either way it looks great, if a little unnatural.

I do a lot of photography on the Dee estuary, not far south from yourself and with very similar light and mood. Many of the scenes in your Fylde Coast category look quite familiar. I've been mining for ideas so I'd like to apologize in advance for any future creative thievery on my part.

As Michael said, hats off to yer for posting such great stuff so consistently. All the best for the next 600.

Andy.

comment by Jacob Sorensen at 08:16 PM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Amazing colours!

comment by KeirAyres at 08:47 PM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Stunning colours, great composition, nice and sharp, interesting subject.
Another masterpiece Dave =P

comment by kikko77 at 09:25 PM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

your colours are killing me...

comment by djn1 at 10:03 PM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

owen b: the extent to which I blur a mask depends on how precise I want the edge to be – anything from 1px to a gradient the size of the image itself.

Michael S.: yes, you're probably right, a bit of fill-flash may well have been a good idea. As for how I find the time: I don't know ;-)

Andy: both :-)

comment by David at 11:42 PM (GMT) on 14 August, 2005

Stunning! Traditional-format imaging can still be brilliant, and this is an excellent proof. The colors are gorgeous, and I love the first impression of a Utah-esque landscape that is slightly off, drawing the viewer to examine the image to discover what the subject really is. I could go on and on, but I won't.

Excellent snap.

Ciao.

comment by Dan at 03:29 PM (GMT) on 15 August, 2005

Wow. Love the colours and depth of field choice. Beautiful photo.

comment by m at 04:43 PM (GMT) on 15 August, 2005

This my favorite of the 3.