Oh I like to be at the seaside... oh I do like to be beside the sea

boojum said:
No, no, no, I appreciate your taking the time and making the effort. I'll fire up ART with the RAW's and see what is there. I just hate editing. Lazy. ;o) Sometimes I think if it were not for fast food I would have died long ago. If I could get muffaletta here I'd be a blimp. Muffaletta, man, that is ambrosia. And I can make a good Wop Salad for it but the meats are all over 100 miles away and the bread doubtful. OK, ART time.


OK, how is this for a first try. Converted in ART, reduced in size in GIMP

View attachment 4854444
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Very nice improvement in shadow detail. Definitely going in the right direction.

How would I analyze this if it were my photo? I always try to be hyper critical. So, I would think about what I'd likely see in the shadows if I were standing there when the photo was taken. And I believe a bit more detail would be apparent.

Our human eye-brain system is so amazing that we almost always see some detail in even the darkest places. So, if the goal is to make the photo a close approximation of what we actually see, then a little more detail would be in order. Trying to approach reality doesn't need to be the goal of every photo. But learning how to get close is an excellent exercise for achieving control of the photo medium.

For a simple exercise, maybe make it a point to look around you at the darkest areas, paying attention to the amount of detail you typically see in the shadows. In almost all cases, even in very low light and also in very contrasty scenes, you'll likely see some detail in even the darkest places. And I'll bet it is exceedingly rare to see many, if any, large expanses that are completely devoid of detail. It almost never happens, especially outdoors on bright sunlit days like in your photos. That's why it is disconcerting to me and many others when that occurs in photos.

Again, just giving some info to consider, not suggesting this approach needs to be adopted by you or anyone else.
 
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We have two foundational industries here: fish and timber. For fishing this is the crab season, Dungeness, big tasty critters. The season opened on the January 15th and boats start coming in 9 - 10 days after season opens. It runs hot and heavy for about a month and then tapers off. The Nichole Lynn is just one of a stream of crabbers, big and small, who pull up to Bornstein's to sell their catch. Bornstein's has a reputation as an honest broker.


L1000260 Another boat with Dungeness crabs by West Phalia, on Flickr
 
OK, granted I do like this image, the crab boat tied up and ready to go out, illuminated by the incoming crab boat's orange sodium vapor lights. And I may screw around with edits and post it some more. Maybe even make you puke, but I hope not. OK, here it is. Reduced to 1200 longer side and sharpened.

M9 + Thypoch Simera 50mm f1.4, f/2.0.

Crab Boat at Night IIrff.png​
 
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chuckroast said:
kodiak?
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You talkin' to me? If so, no, not Kodiak. Astoria, OR, in the West Marine Basin where I loiter often as it is at the foot of the hill where I live. Hake and bay shrimp are regular catches and crab in the late winter. Bad year this year, the catch is down and the prices up. This photo is the proper place for Dungeness crab. It was taken at the fisherman's fund raiser last year. Money raised is in a pool for lost or injured. The crab was great, as always.

Dungeness Crab.jpg​
 
boojum said:
You talkin' to me? If so, no, not Kodiak. Astoria, OR, in the West Marine Basin where I loiter often as it is at the foot of the hill where I live. Hake and bay shrimp are regular catches and crab in the late winter. Bad year this year, the catch is down and the prices up. This photo is the proper place for Dungeness crab. It was taken at the fisherman's fund raiser last year. Money raised is in a pool for lost or injured. The crab was great, as always.

​
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I spent too many hours working the Kodiak docks in my misspent youth - docks that looked just like that. That picture brought back vivid memories :)
 
chuckroast said:
I spent too many hours working the Kodiak docks in my misspent youth - docks that looked just like that. That picture brought back vivid memories :)
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Glad it made you happy. As for Kodiak, some of the folks here go up to Alaska to fish. The money is good, the holding onto it is hard. I guess docks look about the same everywhere. Big or small harbors have the activity, often at odd hours. That dock is at Borsteins where Hake are processed into frozen strips for shipping worldwide and into surimi, also for the world market. They process the tiny bay shrimp, too. And crab of course. Here is a link to a folder on Flickr of a group of West Mooring Basin pics most of which I put into a booklet for my vain amusement. I hope you enjoy it. West Mooring Basin

I am glad you survived the fishing.
 
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boojum said:
Glad it made you happy. As for Kodiak, some of the folks here go up to Alaska to fish. The money is good, the holding onto it s hard. I guess docks look about the same everywhere. Big or small harbors have the activity, often at odd hours. That dock is at Borsteins where Hake are processed into frozen strips for shipping worldwide and into surimi, also for the world market. They process the tiny bay shrimp, too. And crab of course. Here is a link to a folder on Flickr of a group of West Mooring Basin pics most of which I put into a booklet for my vain amusement. I hope you enjoy it. West Mooring Basin

I am glad you survived the fishing.
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Those pix are great.

I didn't fish. I was a marine electronics/Radar tech. So I was in- and about the boats a lot but never went to sea other than to setup a new piece of gear.

We used to work a lot of long (16+ hour) shifts during the height of crab season. I can still smell the ocean to this day. I have many stories that perhaps I'll put into a book someday.
 
chuckroast said:
Those pix are great.

I didn't fish. I was a marine electronics/Radar tech. So I was in- and about the boats a lot but never went to sea other than to setup a new piece of gear.

We used to work a lot of long (16+ hour) shifts during the height of crab season. I can still smell the ocean to this day. I have many stories that perhaps I'll put into a book someday.
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I know Spike. I have read his books. The preface to this one will scare the hell out of you. The following chapters are worse. All from his experiences on the crab boats. He was also a great shot putter at UofO and had a record that stood until recently. Just a wonderful fellow and a really good writer: The board will not print the Amazon link. The book is Working on the Edge by Spike Walker.
 
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