I was roaming a large sandspit during a strong wind when I came across this small scene. The sandspit is quite large (about 35 km long) and gets a lot of wet and windy weather from the Tasman sea. That combination of wet and windy makes for some wonderful abstract images. In this case I saw a ship emerging from a sandstorm.
Farewell Spit is home to the only sea-level colony of Australasian Gannets and is also the feeding ground for many other birds including the bar-tailed godwit that migrates non-stop from western Alaska each year. Others include the red-knot and turnstone.
It has been a favourite holiday and photographic destination for us for several years as it is always changing with the stormy weather and particularly strong winds that occur there. Unfortunately it is also the site of frequent whale strandings.
Specific Feedback Requested
All thoughts, suggestions, and criticisms welcome.
Phil, this is terrific. I love the monochromatic look of this. It might look good in B&W too. I think the composition is perfect. There’s nothing I would recommend changing. Print it large and enjoy.
This is a wonderful abstract, Phil. I love the dark horizontal lines that are cut through with triangular lines. I can feel the sand blasts and that little loaf of marble rye bread in the LLC is rather amazing. Just an all around good image. Thanks for sharing.
WOW! I think this is amazing! The wonderful composition leaves me searching for clues and wondering on so many levels – dimension, perspective, scale… Very well seen and captured!
BTW – I’ve been there!! But it was SOOO long ago. We had dear friends in Nelson, and still do in Wellington. Looking forward to a lot more from your beautiful country!
Thankyou @David_Bostock@Donna_Callais@Diane_Miller for your kind comments.
Loaf of ryebread Donna! Just goes to illustrate the widely varying viewpoints that emerage with abstract images.
I thought quite a bit about this before posting as I didn’t think it would have much appeal, so your comments mean a lot to me.
So Diane, you have visited Farewell Spit, and also the gannet colony there I assume (based on many of your images here). What I find most alluring about the area is that the sand patterns are different every day and are especially photogenic after an overnight rainfall. Of course such patterns seem a bit boring to most nature phographers, as least in my experience.
Did you visit the wild top of the west coast that is accessed from below Farewell Spit? It is a unique area of coastline…very wild, rugged, with wonderful limestone outcrops on the beach and lots of very water-worn rock. I’ll post some images of the area sometime. The Morn ing Mist image that I think was the second image I posted after joining NPN recently was taken on the road to that coast.
Brilliant image Phil! I love images that prompt questions of the viewer. This has so many wonderful elements that keep me exploring around the image. The diagonal lines of sand kicked up by the wind add so much to the feeling. I have no corrections to recommend. Great job on this one!
Beautiful abstract image, Phil. I love the composition and the merging diagonals in the top of the frame. Looks like the ship is heading towards the vortex. I too think this would work well as a Black and White. Either way, this is a wonderful image and something to be proud of for sure.
I didn’t get to see the Gannets! We were being chaperoned by our friends who were not nature photographers so it was a quick look. Did see a bit of the west coast, too. Weather was wretched, and time too short. We need to get back!
Fantastic, natural abstract image. I love the main shape in the bottom half and think it could stand on it’s own actually. But the angled position creates/points a diagonal line which connects the wind-blowing sand in the upper part of the image.
I wouldn’t call this a nit, but an observation/question. To me, it appears the colors go from a distinct brownish tint in the lower ~half, but become more gray as it transitions to the upper half. I’m sure it’s a natural occurance and again the diagonals of the blowing sand also helps the color transition. And also, the color change also slightly helps the separation of elements in the scene - if that makes sense.
Thankyou @Alfredo_Mora@David_Bostock@Lon_Overacker, I’m pleased you like this one. I have VERY many images of sand patterns from this area, but not to worry I wasn’t intending to post many (any?) more.
Yes Lon, the colours do change between greyish brown and grey. There is also a brownish patch UL. It is a natural variability relating to particle size (with the finest particles being quite whitish) and whether the coarser particles are dry or wet. After a rain, the surface dries quickly and wind then creates patterns of colour, as well as in topography, as the underlying sand is wet and brownish while fine sand blowing around and being deposited in various patterns is dry and grey.
Have tried a B&W version and kept the tonal range narrow to maintain a soft feel to the scene. I still prefer the colour version though…probably because that is partly what originally got my attention. Cheers.
I’m very late to this party, but I just had to comment. This is superb! I love the original with the warmish tones. The framing/comp is perfect. Just .
Thanks Bonnie, I appreciate your comments. I am still finding my way around NPN and hesitant to comment on the work of others just yet. I’ve looked through your posts recently and wow you have some wonderful work there. I particularly enjoy your work that is abstract in nature. Cheers.
Just an all around good image. Thanks for sharing.
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