Title • untitled #90

This is the last of the images I'll be posting from my recent trip to the UK: another shot of this rig/structure, currently sitting in the middle of the beach at Thornton Cleveleys (a couple of the miles up the coast from Blackpool). I'm not sure what purpose it serves, but it's positioned where the Riverdance was stranded in February 2008. From what I can remember there was a sewerage outlet somewhere nearby, so it may be that the rig is being used to make repairs to that structure. Anyway, whatever it is, I don't imagine it will be there forever, so I'm glad I had the chance to photograph it when I was back.

In terms of the shot itself: the thing I like about this one is the very large depth of field, which probably wouldn't have been possible with my DSLR, at least not without upping the ISO to allow me to use a much smaller aperture. As with my previous shot though, I think a square crop would probably have produced a better composition, but I quite like the more open feel at 3x2.

[update: I've posted a square crop version here]

If you're interested, the original 4x3 version is here:

    .../archives/untitled_0090.php

As you can see, I concentrated on bringing out the details in the clouds, and increasing the brightness and contrast in the foreground pebbles - both of which were achieved by using a variety of masked Curves. If you're interested in learning more about the techniques I used with this image, the most relevant tutorials are linked below:

    Landscapes: creating dramatic skies
    Toning colour images