Before...After...Restore to Before!

There are times when it's good to go back and revisit photographs. Many times new post-processing skills will breath new life into an old picture, or a fresh set of eyes help you see things in a new way. As I learn more and more about photography, I find that going back to older photos with new skills and experiences  can bring out something in a subject that I didn't see before. But occasionally retaking a picture is a worthwhile activity. I had taken this picture underneath the Boardwalk in Seaside Park, NJ and also blogged about it in January.

You can see it larger here.

After hurricane Sandy I returned to that beach and attempted to shoot from the same location as this picture. It was a different time of year and a different time of day, as evident by the tide. Surrounding the pier pilings were downed wires from the amusements that had been there and a lot of shells from water levels being so far up the shore line. I brought home quite a few scallop shells, which are not usually so abundant on this beach.

Notice the two rows of pilings on the right and how much of the boardwalk is missing. Click here to see another picture of this pier that I took on the same day. In the distance you can see the pier that was made famous shortly following Hurricane Sandy from the fallen roller coaster. For any of us spent countless hours forming memories down the Jersey Shore, seeing the before and after can be heartbreaking. Crews have recently started to rebuild boardwalks and many businesses are making plans for welcoming back summer crowds. Much of the Shore includes small businesses that are needy for the rebuilds to provide for their families. Please consider looking HERE to find out how you can help to Restore the Shore!

Spiders!

There's a lot of spiders in my world. No, I'm not talking about nightmares or pets. I live near a lot of trees. Pines mostly, as I'm in a part of the Pine Barrens. These spiders and I have an understanding. No crawling up my leg or trying to invade my home space and all is good. The first moment of fuzzy stepping onto the laminate and it's the backside of the slipper to the brain! Sorry, that was harsh. Anyway, I've been fascinated with the geometry and skill that goes into making a web, and how that translates into my photography. There are a variety of spider types around my house, which is where all the web pictures you see here were taken.

See it bigger here.

This guy stayed the whole summer last year right outside the front of our house in the bushes. Notice the little tunnel behind him. That's where he would quickly drag the moths that my boys threw in the web. Don't judge. It was actually pretty cool to watch.

See it bigger here.

 The little path in our woods has many of these webs. Often right before sunset you can see many of these webs all along our low lying bushes. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. It could be millions for all I care, as long as the bug population is regulated and the spiders stick to our understanding (see first paragraph).

See it bigger here.

Then there are the big fuzzy ones that really like to show off! This web was mounted between two poles that would normally have held up safety netting around the trampoline. The poles are about five feet away from each other! This picture was taken at night, with one hand grasping the camera and shutter release and the other with one of my hubby's heavy-duty LED flashlights. I don't think a normal, direct camera flash would have produced such nice colors. Also, this picture has been rotated from its original state. Although it appears to be walking on top of the web, he was hanging head up. 

See it bigger here.

This web showed up morning fresh for about a month. This tree is right outside the front of the house, and clearly the porch light brought in some good eats. I decided on black and white for this picture, as I felt it really brought out the mood of the dewy early morning in which I shot it. 

Finding the Beauty in the Broken

You can see a larger version here.

There's a saying about watching a train wreak. Is it because we can't help but watch destruction, tragedy or suffering? I believe we watch to see the human element that could be us. We wonder when our lives will be broken. When shooting pictures, I think there is something that draws me to broken items. I wonder what they looked like brand new; what kind of joy or promise surrounding it. You see broken stairs and wonder who ran up them in day gone by, or a once busy factory now silent.  These doors were on the side of a restaurant banquet hall that had been closed for years. This hall hosted weddings, baptisms, and a variety of merry occasions in its day. I wondered who made grand entrances through these doors. How old are they? What did the halls inside look like to influence the door colors? What drew me to them visually was the arrangement and the color. This photo is an HDR merging of three different pictures. I love how HDR allows me to capture the textures that portray the mood of now abandoned and broken items. 

This picture is available for purchase here.

Under the Boardwalk

I took this picture in the early fall of 2012. My kids always liked going to Seaside that time of year; things on the boardwalk were still open but no crowds. We have our regular stops like the arcade and the candy store, and we often check on some of the stray cats that live at the edge of boardwalk. Although we usually don't go under the boardwalk, it was a nice day and we decided to check it out. The light under the boards were just as amazing in person as you see it in the picture. I used three shots at three different exposures and merged them using photomatix software. Not only does the hdr process bring out the light peaking through the boards, but if you look closely you can see the other pier in the middle of the picture. There are many pictures of the rollar coaster from that pier that fell into the ocean during Hurricane Sandy. The pier in this picture was also mostly washed away as well.  I'm so glad I was able to capture it on a happier day. 

This picture is available for purchase here.