Dreary, Dismal, Dingy

If I had to pick a word to describe the weather in the Boston area this spring, one of the 3 “D” words above says it.  As I write this it’s raining again; we have had rain the last 14 consecutive weekends.   They say April showers bring May flowers but it’s June and the flowers and greenage look great.  Cloudy days a great for photography with even lighting, minimal glare, enhanced colors and textures and moody images so we’ll try to think of it as an opportunity.

Last weekend we visited the Parker River Refuge near Plum Island.  Between some great nature and wildlife shots, and meeting a few travelers, we tracked a small boat floating around in the freshwater marsh.  We like the shot, and we accentuated the mood rather than trying to find color and the sky in post processing.  Frankly, too much retouch looks over corrected and fake.

After adjusting the crop to help with the composition and bringing the subject closer, we used a Lightroom Preset for color.  They are surprisingly good. The texture and clarity settings were pushed a bit, and we have an image.  Although the adjustments were global, they didn’t hurt our subject - the boat.  Simple and effective.   Our overall image is casual with an impressionist flair, perfect to help create a relaxing atmosphere.

Back to the weather forecast that’s looking more like England and Ireland.  We traveled to the British Islands the last few springs and despite its reputation, the weather was better there.  Looking forward to sunny days. 

Visit the Parker River section in our Massachusetts portfolio to see more of the shoot.

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