Natural Panorama

We have captured some great images at Nahant Beach on previous shoots.   Our most recent shoot was a typical early August day; slightly hazy, hot and the beach was crowded.  We liked our original image but converting it to what we envisioned, the finished product required a bit of work.

The base image was shot at f 5.6 and 1/640 sec at ISO 100.  The 100 – 400 zoom was set to 100mm.  The 100 mm lens set is correct, and the pano effect is a result of lens placement relative to a natural panorama. Using a full frame camera combined with some slight cropping helps the panoramic look.

Post processing became part of the creative process and took longer than usual.  As mentioned, it was a crowded day.  But after a bit of Photoshop work, we deleted some of the crowd giving the beach an empty feel and a look that minimized the visual distraction of the people. The obvious retouch is changing from color to monotone, and we created a brownish almost sepia-like color.  What’s not so obvious is using the Oil Paint Filter in Photoshop with some fine textures.

Photography is a complex art and science but is fundamentally the study of shape and light.  Lately we have encountered many opportunities to use monotones that help us understand light and shape without the complexity and distraction of color.  To get the true feel visit the website and click the image and enlarge it. The new work is all local and in our Massachusetts Collection on the website.

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