Wrong Blue Hour

The week had been very hectic and long with having to deal with issues at work. I was definitely looking forward to the weekend. I had only been able to venture out with my camera during lunch and was thinking if the weather cooperated I would take a drive up to Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake.

Saturday afternoon approached with everything lining up as I had hoped. There were some nice clouds in the sky, a slight haze to soften the light and my afternoon was free. I grabbed my daughter and we made the 40 minute drive to the lake. The conditions were a little worse at the lake and I only had a few minutes with the sun before it dove behind the incoming clouds.

This image was after it disappeared but still an hour before the official sunset. Technically it wasn’t in what would be called the blue hour but I do like the tone provided by the cloud cover. This is a portion of the break wall which separates the entrance to the barge canal and the beach area. I would have loved to get an image from the wall looking out into the lake but I couldn’t get around the fence. Don’t they trust us? 🙂

Wrong Blue Hour
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/3s, 70mm, f/22, ISO 200

Snowball Preview x2

Another image from my little excursion yesterday afternoon. I like the original (first image) because of the splash of color from the tree in the upper left corner which ties in to the slight yellow/brown center of the ‘snowballs’. The B & W conversion works for me because the fluffy snowball like main attractions seem to stand out better against the background.

The first image was processed using Lightroom with a few minor adjustments, i.e., some contrast, clarity and a little vibrance. The second image started from the first and converted to monochrome using Topaz Labs B&W Effects. I really like the Platinum Collection of presets for the overall tone they create.

Which do you prefer?

Snowball Preview
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 200


Snowball Preview – Monochrome
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 200