I wanted to photograph some dunes today, but the forecast was for rain in the afternoon. The only place I know of to get dunes in RI is at one of the beaches in Narragansett. Now, if you look at a map, this beach will probably be called Wheeler Beach. Don't believe that for a second. All true Rhode Islanders know this as "Sand Hill Cove." Anyway, when I arrived I was a bit disappointed to see that most of the dunes were completely covering the storm fences, so there was little in the way of contrast. As I was preparing to leave I spotted this fence casting a nice little shadow with the promised afternoon storm looming to the west. That turned out to be my shot.
I had thought of playing around with black and white today, and after trying literally a dozen or so different processing techniques, I did decide to go with it. This started out in Redynamix - my HDR single image processor - and I used an initial "heavy sky b&w" filter to really dramatize the scene. Once in PSE, I added a levels adjustment, and a cyan photo filter to enhance the contrast. I also used Neat Image to eliminate the noise produced by the HDR technique. A slight hue adjustment at the end corrected the overkill of the filter.
@worthon Thanks! It wasn't quite the mood I had in mind when taking the shot, but it worked in processing. LOL @marzenka@cromwell Thanks, Marzenka and Cromwell. Much appreciated. @tabithasyear Thanks, Tabitha! It's definitely not your typical dunes shot! A Facebook friend just told me of another beach here with dunes, so watch for another shot soon. :) @shortbuddy Thanks, Gina!
Very nice composition. But I am reminded of what a friend said. You cannot turn a sows ear into a silk purse. Set your camera up for AEB. Once you see the difference between real and pseudo HDR, you will almost always use AEB.
@morrisroos Don, thanks for the advice on HDR and the use of AEB. I'm playing around now with the software you recommended. Only downside I see is that it's excellent software and I'm going to end up buying it! LOL @mariboo Thanks, Missy! That sky dumped a lot of water on me on my drive home. @veg66 Thanks, Joanne. Appreciate the comment. @agentzuckerguss Thanks, Katia! @karens68 Thanks, Karen. @melissapike Thanks for the fav, Melissa!
@marzenka @cromwell Thanks, Marzenka and Cromwell. Much appreciated.
@tabithasyear Thanks, Tabitha! It's definitely not your typical dunes shot! A Facebook friend just told me of another beach here with dunes, so watch for another shot soon. :)
@shortbuddy Thanks, Gina!
@calm Thanks, Cathy! I was trying to beat the rain promised by those clouds. :)
@mariboo Thanks, Missy! That sky dumped a lot of water on me on my drive home.
@veg66 Thanks, Joanne. Appreciate the comment.
@agentzuckerguss Thanks, Katia!
@karens68 Thanks, Karen.
@melissapike Thanks for the fav, Melissa!
Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the comments.