This wrecked boat at the south end of Tomales Lagoon has been photographed a million times. It has sadly deteriorated a lot in recent years, and several years ago a group of morons were spinning steel wool and set the stern afire.
All comments welcome! I wish I had gotten closer and tried to get more of the reflection. I;kk try for a higher tide next trip.
This is just the raw file with basic tonal tweaks.
I do like these 2 images. Dying flora, delapidated buildings, ruins, or as in this case rotting boats etc are a feast for my eyes and mind. I went through a phase some time ago of photographing dying plants but no-one except me liked them. Oh well.
My feeling for your images clearly comes from the sense of abandonment of the boat, and the wonderful textures associated with consequent decay.
Diane, when I was browsing for photos in critiques, this one caught my eye. I love it - love the detail and the background and the “wabi sabi” feel of it. I hope you don’t mind but I made an adjustment in Nik and added some tonal contrast and cropped it a bit so the boat is in the upper left instead of center. Just my thoughts.
Thanks guys! @Phil_G, you’ll find a lot of appreciation here for the wabi-sabi of dying plants – have another go with them!! @robertakayne, I like your take on it – with decay like this, anything goes. I live far enough inland that summer days are usually clear with harsh light and when I get to the coast I just want the soft light to wash all over everything I shoot, but it isn’t always the best for subjects like this. And I definitely should have done that crop.
Diane, this is wonderful. I love the feeling of decay. @robertakayne’s adjustments also work well too. Sure seems you all had a great time and got some excellent shots.
Diane, that is a great shot. It is crisp, well composed, and of course, has a great subject. I might have waited for darker clouds to give it some mood, but your picture makes me feel that the Point Reyes isn’t quite ready to give up. Well done.
