First Light on Bradenton Beach Photo

Photographer’s Note

This one has been "in the queue" for a while, but I just kept finding other shots that I wanted to post more. So, I thought today would be a good day to get it out, I think it completes my travelogue from my Week in Florida trip in January.

This is the clock tower on The Historic Bradenton Beach Pier, I took it just after 7:30am, so the clock is right, my exif data is off by an hour because I neglected to change the time in the camera. The sun was still very low, giving me that golden glow on the white paint of the pier rails. It was a windy morning as you can see from the palm fronds in the upper right hand corner - there is a little motion blur, but not too much.

For post processing I used DxO Optics Professional to negate the wide-angle lens distortion, straighten all the angles so it looks more realistic, then PS CS2 for the old school frame, title and shrinking for TE. Oh, and I sharpened it after re-size.

It's probably getting pretty hot down there in Florida now, but it was absolutely wonderful while I was there in January. I also got to miss a big ice and snowstorm - that was a bonus!

Have a great Friday and an even better Weekend!

BlueRaven, thor68, phwall, meltemi, hispic ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

BlueRaven (35) 2009-03-27 5:32

Good morning Reed,

I'm pretty busy these days and don't have time to post many critiques but I absolutely wanted to comment on this one.
That's an interesting perspective you've captured here, and beautiful light, too. I think I would have been tempted to leave a tiny little bit more sky on the top and maybe crop the bottom a bit instead. But the light is what really stands out on this one. It could have been 7:30 pm, too, with the golden glow.
Great job!

Have a great weekend,
Claudia

thor68 (5537) 2009-03-27 5:41

what a wonderful long view along the nice wooden pier! :-) the morning sunlight is great giving the whole composition a
beautiful warm touch. i will keep this spot in mind when i fly to florida in 3 weeks, sarasota and st. petersburg are stops,
so with bradenton being inbetween, who knows.. well done & best wishes, thor.

giorgimer (21322) 2009-03-27 5:49

Hi Reed,

very beautiful, light is magic, its effect on the pier is lovable. Nice perspective.

TFS

Gio

Manamo (3474) 2009-03-27 5:59

hey Reed,
the colors are so warm!! no need of the clock to tell us that!!
You were clever of choosing one side instead of staying in the middle, which would have yielded a more static shot...

I would have liked to see a young couple there watching the horizon or something like that...but of course, young people don't wake up so early, do they ;)

take care,

Marc

phwall (5644) 2009-03-27 6:55

Hi Reed,
Well I'm glad you took this one out of the queue, it's bloody wonderful.
I like the interesting POV you've captured, starting the wharf at full frame width then letting it hug the right of frame but move to the side in the overall composition looks just great.
Superb early morning colours, the low sun is really warming the up the colour temperature.
Good detail, lots of great things to discover in this shot.
Bit early for you isn't it, must have been an uncomfortable bed.
Warm wishes
Peter

Beppo (1374) 2009-03-27 11:13

Hola Reed,

Excellent composition,the morning light is wonderful. Well done.

Josep,

marietom (32026) 2009-03-30 12:51

hello Reed,

très beau jeu de lignes, dans une superbe lumière.
Bonne soirée
Marie

meltemi (9746) 2009-04-01 8:36

Hello Reed,
great use of the converging lines to create a real sense of direction and depth in this picture, where the light is really fabulous. I also like how there is enough space at the left of the bars to let us see some of the scenery. Great idea, great colours and lighting and great details.
All the best.
Stella

Flavia (10202) 2009-04-03 9:41

Hi Reed,

Nice warm light over this pier. Good POV and compo as well.

Regards,

Flavia

hispic (7399) 2009-04-17 4:17

Hi Reed,
Beautiful light and color in the morning! Perspective by a wide lens is also very nice though three ufos appears in the sky since using the smaller aperture. I like the distant orange light at the left of the image very much.
Best wishes, Hisashi