

Have a great day!
Cheers,
C. S.
During our family vacation at Ocean Isle Beach last July, we made our traditional sunset visit to the local pier. I quickly noticed a different light characteristic than what I was used to. The light was noticeably cooler. Later I remembered this visit was a little later than usual, the sun had just set at the horizon.
As sunset approaches the kelvin temperature of light typically drops resulting in the “golden hour” light. But after sunset, the kelvin temperature rise back up, cooling things off. As in sunrise, this transition point offers a great range of color temperatures. Warm yellow and orange, sun touched tonality sits just above cooler magenta and purple tonality just out of reach of the sun’s rays.
Shooting at twilight required use of a much higher ISO, this series was shot between 2000 – 3200 ISO. Though my Nikon D750 does a nice job with higher ISO noise reduction, this series still required some noise and moire reduction processing. After applying an Ektachrome slide film emulation the remaining noise was seamlessly blended into the film grain structure.
Below, I included a 2015 photo of the same scene taken 20 minutes earlier in the day, just before sunset. It’s a great example of the lighting change from just before sunset, to just after – twilight time.
For the best viewing experience, click on an image to view a high resolution version. Thanks for taking time to view my photo blog!
Cheers,
C. S.
Section 176.a. of the US Flag Code: The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
On this 2018 Fourth of July our nation is in dire distress. Political polarization is the worst I’ve seen in my lifetime. Many believe the current divide is only surpassed by the Civil War era. We are conflicted not only with one another, but within ourselves.
How do we stand for what we believe in, while following the example of Christ? I don’t know. My Dad would remind me “we are in the Love and Forgiveness Business”. But, even those who profess to be Christian are splintering. One day I’m furious at all the stupid people on the other side. The next day, my heart is broken over so many broken and lost relationships. Guess the only thing I can do is pray on this 2018 Fourth of July, for God to heal our broken relationships, nation and world.
Perhaps the onerous clouds over the flag represent the breakdown of civil discourse and rise of mean-spirited nationalism, a great darkness threatening to extinguish the light of truth represented in the founding principles of our great country and others throughout the world. Lord, we pray for the patience, humility and an open heart from which to hear and understand one another. But also, give us strength to stand united, firmly, against absolutism, intolerance and ignorance.
On a lighter note – Flag Day in the United States falls on June 14th each year. On June 14th, 1777 the Second Continental Congress adopted the United States flag. It wasn’t until 1916 that Flag Day was officially declared, by Woodrow Wilson who was the United States president at the time.
These photos don’t really give a sense of the scale of this enormous flag at Camping World on I-40 in Greensboro. I believe this flag is at least 100 feet (30 meters) across!
C. S.
While working on this towards the end of my intentional color workflow, I accidentally applied a b&w filter. Immediately, I was convinced to go back and also apply my typical monochrome workflow. Color or monochrome? Both have their merits. Obtaining a pleasing color balance in the color version was quite challenging. I may go back and work on it more with fresh eyes.
In the monochrome version, I experimented with luminosity adjustments and ended up slightly dropping the red, green and blue. This helped provide some tonal separation provided naturally in the color composition.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your insights. For the absolute best viewing experience, click on an image to see a high resolution version.
Cheers,
C. S.