Room with a View

Project Images

Gallery Overview

Individual Images


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Project Description

This Project is a result of a series of photographs I captured during a short stay in Monterey, CA. Staying in Cannery Row in a room looking directly over the bay ranks right up there with a room overlooking the Merced River, just outside of Yosemite. Inspiration and motivation included in the price of the room - and worth it!

My personal definition of a “Project” is one that is thought out ahead of time, planned and then executed. This Project however, is after the fact. Certainly though, there is a concise theme, and that is quite literally photographs taken from the same viewpoint - through the open bay window of our 3rd floor room overlooking a small beach. The room has a bench in the bay window and blackout curtains; so I was able to get up for sunrise, enjoy the glorious view while sitting behind the curtains to allow my wife to sleep in, have her coffee and get ready for the day. This seems to be my photography these days - simply taking advantage of every opportunity to photograph the beauty we are so often emersed in.

Most of these images were taken handheld, just sitting on the bench. Some however, were taken later in the morning or evening with the tripod. This allowed me to shoot much longer exposures and also create images that I’ll call “ISM” or Intential Subject movement. Instead of moving the camera, you let the subject move - ie. lapping waves… And there was a sub-theme here as I observed the beach, waves and ocean. With many of the ICM’s and ISM’s I was getting, I was reminded of Neopolitan ice cream; and I tried to exploit that. Does anyone remember Neopolitan ice cream? It is typically a 3-layer ice cream of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. While the colors aren’t exactly the same as the neopolitan, I was trying to achieve the layering with many of these images.

Self Critique

While I certainly acknowledge the fact that ICMs are mostly random luck… but I am often so pleased with the colors, forms, shapes, etc.

What I loved most about this project was what it did for my personal mental state and motivation. I had not been photographing much in the last year and this just proved to myself that I was still driven and drawn to beauty in nature, and whereever I find myself. I know I couldn’t have improved the emotions as a result of these few hours gazing out a hotel window.

Creative Direction

What I’m looking to show honestly, is the diversity of images that can be created from just a single vantage point. Straight shots, ICM’s, ISM’s, color b&w (I have a whole series different from these that could make a b&w project. Not all of those straight images are shown here as I wanted a consistent theme.

Specific Feedback

All feedback welcome! I’m curious too if you think a Project that included some other elements besides the beach? I have sunrise views, views of the Bay window, with a rose… (it was my birthday!) Many more non-beach abstracts seagulls, people on the beach, sailboats in the bay, etc. That Project still fills the bill as a “Room with a View”

Intent of the project

Gallery on your website

Additional Details: Another reason for submitting this as a Project - I’ll be honest… I think members would be quite bored if I submitted so many of these every other day - they become redundant. I have no desire to do that. I was as pleased as a child that I was fortunate to have so many images, and diverse ones at that. I’ll show some of those later.

Alternate Images

Please provide feedback on whether any of these images would fit more cohesively in the project.


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Alternate Image 4

Lon, a wonderful collection here. All are calming scenes regardless of the technique being used. As it turns out the collage at the beginning is an excellent overall view and find it nicely laid out there. Interesting, if I read it right, all were from the same vantage point. Although very similar it still had slightly different and interesting spin to keep looking. The 3rd. alternate image could be tied a bit to the first image I would think.
Anyway, that’s me moving on here…take care !

Thank you @Paul_Breitkreuz for stopping in and commenting! Much appreciated.

Yeah, “the same vantage” point is true, but admitedly deceiving. There were 2 windows opening to the bay. They couldn’t open more than 80deg or so… which meant one open window looked more north, the other window had a more southern view. Consequently, images were shot at an angle to the surf, and so the angles flipped depending on which window I was shooting from! The “straight on” shots were set up with the tripod where I could zoom past the window to avoid any angles. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks again for chiming in!

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