PHOTOGRAPH INFO

Another photograph from my vacation at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey three weeks ago.

This photo was taken the same evening as the previously posted shot -- you can see the remnants of that same rainbow in the background.

Thanks again for your patience between postings this summer... lots going on here but all's well. :)

Camera settings and post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens at 24mm, ISO 200, f/5, 1/400s. Curves adjustment, color balancing.

Thanks for visiting Durham Township!

--Kathleen

I like your work very much and I bookmaked you to the photoblogs.org

Your photos are always worth the wait and this one is a beauty.

Amazing sand castle. Can't imagine the hours of work that were put into this. Wonderful image!!!

I love it! Summer at the Jersey Shore is for sandcastles, surf fishing, swimming, long walks on the beach and the magical way you capture those moments. Such beautiful tones and details!

Sweet sandcastle! Did you boost the greens in the water? Doesn't look black enough for NJ :)

(I say this as someone who loves the Jersey shore, despite the color of the water.)

I love the greenish color of the ocean. Also, I like how there are big shells on the sand castle. You don't see many big shells like that out here on the West coast.

Two thumbs up for the architectural design--the contractor......not so much.

Not the first time reality fell short of the vision....so it often goes with clouds, sand castles, ends of rainbows and sometimes fishing trips!

The opposing swirls of castle and clouds add a nice compositional flow of this smorgasbord of symbolism.

I'd say you've been busy - a lot of work went into that Sandcastle.

Perfect time of day for great colors.

Anthony: I use the curves tool to boost contrast and it tends to boost the saturation right along with it. So there were no adjustments made to the water specifically but it does look more saturated because of the curves adjustment.

Also, if you spend time 'downashore' I'm sure you know how the water takes on different colors at different times of day, and different times of year. Haha, it even looks black sometimes.

in all the years of following your photographic works, i believe THIS photo is the most magical i've seen you create. i LOVE it!

Nice light and composition!

Beautiful warm tones, and I love the pastel-type colors you captured in the sky. I'm surprised the sand castle is so well exposed while still catching the highlights of the sky. Did you have to do much to bring those closer together with curves adjustments?

You're an inspiration, Kathleen. Kudos.

For a few days at the beach, I'm just wishin'
I could join these three guys, do some fishin'.
But it might be more fun
To build another sandcastle in the sun
And dream of all the work I'd be missin'.

Nice, warm tones and great moment. I also like the hint of the rainbow.

Justin: It's a combo of good exposure + time of day (sunset) + right direction (back to the setting sun) + a curves adjustment which created more contrast in the sky.

Exellent shot '- )

Great beach image Kathleen! Looks like you had a blast.

Fantastically beautiful and interesting use of your wide-angle viewpoint! Your pictures are always SMASHING!

what a great shot the castle is wonderful!!

Gorgeous, and your composition is just perfect. Including the fishermen makes all the difference, as opposed to just a straight-on shot of the sand castle and sky.

Love the composition and the textures in the sand - nice work Kathleen.

THE CASTLE REPAIR SONG
(more commonly known as "Ode to Ocean Front Reconstruction in Sea Major")

the castle now crumbles,
fishermen grumble,
any way for a story to end?
clouds cover the sky,
just a small patch of blue,
has the rainbow now reached it's end?
shells on the beach
are just within reach,
pounding surf know s there is no end.
we've come to resistance,
but there's hope in the distance,
we'll just have to hold on my friend.
so let's patch up the wall, don't let the flags fall,
what say you, we start over again?
some got a bucket, some have a shovel,
what say you, we all just pitch in?

(Please sing along...... in Sea Major of course!)

We'll just amuse ourselves till the next shot.......er, capture is posted

What might the next picture be to tickle our senses?
Furniture by a roadside or Jakey mending fences.
Maybe Isaac chewing gum or Jenn splitting logs,
Birds filling the sky or mud covered hogs.
The water might be frozen, dripping,running or still,
Contained in a cup, a puddle or wheel of a mill.
A small town parade or city alight,
Country homestead or ugly urban blight.
Rainbows, flowers, hand-lettered signs
Sunrises, sunsets, trees of all kinds.
A church with a graveyard, yellow center of the road,
Swing hung from a limb, a princess kissing a toad.
You just never know what might turn up next
In the high quality picture and short discriptive text.
So as I wait for the next photo, I remember her other life
That Kathleen is also a sister, daughter, mother and wife.

America has been called the great experiment and the bastion of Democracy. Once a model, powerful and respected throughout the free world, this country is now feared and despised and under constant attack from within as well as from without. Those free thinkers who created this country are seeing their achievement being slowly destroyed as our reason for being and our core beliefs are questioned and maligned. Our desire for appeasement has weakened our resolve, eroded our sense of purpose and left us adrift in an ocean of uncertainty.

Do we still have the courage and the strength of character to preserve our way of life or will we find ourselves, like so many other once proud and prosperous nations before us, washed away by the ever shifting sands of misguided righteousness and false equality? Are we destined to be engulfed by the waves of anonymity? To be resurrected and reshaped into a mindless mass of humanity unrecognizable to our founding fathers?

I really like this shot for the colour but most of all for the way it captures "life on the beach" with beautiful imagery. You tell wonderful stories.

awesome shot. that looks like lake tahoe

The exposure is perfect!