This series of photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Monterey County, California. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure known as intentional camera movement or ICM. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
Standing at the ocean's edge watching the waves crash onto the beach as the sun sets is one of my favorite things to do. Photographing such glorious scenes in abstract gives these images such character and mood. With shades of blue from azure to indigo and cobalt, to shades of yellow and orange that are bright and warm, these photographs are perfect for homes and offices where abstract oceans scenes are wanted.
The Painted Sunset Series | Abstract Art
Blue Dusk
Big Sur, California
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #1 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Monterey County, California. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
I titled this photograph 'Blue Dusk', I think it fit perfectly. Standing on a cliff face above the ocean listening to the waves crash below as the sunsets is magnificent. The shades of color painting the sky and ocean as if with brush strokes. For this photograph I used a shutter speed of 1/8th of a second and panned the camera from left to right as I was taking the exposure. The trick to this is technique is to start panning press the shutter button and keep panning in one fluid motion.
Creamsicle Sky
BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #2 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Monterey County, California. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
'Creamsicle Sky' was the perfect match for this image. My wife and I sat at the computer looking at color charts and each image trying to come up with names, when I came up with this my wife loved it! The vastness of the Pacific Ocean is truly humbling. Watching the sun sink into the sea and the the sky explode in a palette of yellows and orange sunset while the grayish blue ocean crashes on the shore is something my heart always longs for. I used a shutter speed of .6 of a second and moved the camera from left to right during the exposure to capture this abstract photograph, this technique is called ICM or Intentional Camera Movement.
Flamingo Dusk
BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #3 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Monterey County, California. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
I love the color of the sky this photograph. My wife and I spent quite a bit of time on this one until we found a shade of pink named Flamingo that matched the sky perfectly. The ocean is the wonderful dusky blue and I love how the colors compliment themselves. This photograph was a 1 second exposure moving the camera from left to right while the shutter was open to make this wonderful abstract.
Azure Waves
BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #4 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Monterey County, California. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
The azure blue of this image speaks for itself. I used a shutter speed of .6 of a second and panned quickly from left to right to capture this dreamy photograph. This is my personal favorite from the series, I love the blue of the ocean fading into the distant fog bank and the subtle colors of the sunset, the lines of the waves leading the viewers eyes into the image.
Mellow Yellow
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #5 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photograph were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Pacific Grove, California on the Monterey Peninsula. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
The technique used for this photograph was having the camera on a tripod and doing a long exposure of 1.3 seconds so the waves would blur as they rolled in. Notice the rocks in the foreground are sharp because I didn't move the camera, I just let the image blur by the motion of the waves. This is the same technique used to blur the water when photographing waterfalls and I love doing it with the ocean. I absolutely love the colors of this image. The subtle tones of blue and green in the waves and of course the amazing sunset sky. I also love the motion in the waves and the spray flying off them as if the photograph is moving on its own. I can still smell the ocean air and feel the spray on my face when I look at this image.
Indigo Sea
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #6 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Pacific Grove, California on the Monterey Peninsula. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
I love the changing light of a sunset, it can go from brilliant yellow to rich blues in a matter of minutes. We actually stayed in this area until it was dark enough to need a flashlight to get back to the car, it was wonderful! For this image I used a shutter speed of 13 seconds and waited until a wave was just receding to start the exposure. Notice the rock is in focus and the detail in the foreground beach sand but the waves are all blurred giving the whole ocean the dreamy soft quality. I love the rich blues in this image contrasted with the red horizon line and the yellow sky at the top. As your eye travels into and up the image all of a sudden you are surprised to see the bright yellow of the sunset.
Cobalt Tide
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #7 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Pacific Grove, California on the Monterey Peninsula. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
This image is from the exact same spot and just two minutes later than 'Indigo Sea' and obviously vertical. Sometimes I like offering a vertical and horizontal image of virtually the same scene to give my collectors more choices. This image has a slightly different flavor and I really liked the lines of the dark sand on the beach, the reflection of the sky in the receding wave and then the dappled blues as the ocean recedes into the distance to meet the burning yellow sky.
Moody Blues
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #8 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Pacific Grove, California on the Monterey Peninsula. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
Here is another example of Intentional Camera Movement or ICM photography. I used a 13 second exposure and with the camera mounted to the tripod I slowly panned the camera from left to right blurring and blending the details into a wonderful abstract. I love the colors of blue in this image, from the foreground of dark sand, the shades of the ocean, to the where the horizon meets the sunset of rich yellow and the sky melting back into blue. The mood of this really speaks to my soul.
Under Currant
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #9 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 in Monterey County, California. These are all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
I love a good play on words and on this image one just popped into my mind. My wife and I were scouring color charts for shades of red and we found one named currant, as in the bush. The shade of red matches the rich red of the sunset at the horizon line in this image and I had my name! This image is very similar to 'Moody Blues' yet they have such different color temperatures, I think they accent each other nicely. This is another ICM photograph where I moved the camera while the shutter was open to blend and blur the scene. I honestly could just photograph the ocean all the time, I love standing on the beach as the waves roll in watching the summer sunset linger in the sky.
Lapis Glow
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 10 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #10 of 10 in a series named 'Painted Sunset'. These photographs were taken between June 8 and June 12, 2020 on the beaches of Pacific Grove, California. Pacific Grove is a wonderful little town on the Monterey Peninsula and has great beaches like the Asilomar State Beach. These photographs were all done in an abstract technique of using a long shutter speed, some leaving the camera still and others moving the camera during the exposure. Finding names for these images wasn't easy, I finally decided to use names of specific color shades that are in the image. I love abstract photography and I am very happy with how these turned out.
Lapis lazuli is a semi precious stone of deep rich blue, the color of the ocean in this image. It fit perfectly so I had to use it. This image was done with a 13 second exposure and moving the camera slowly as the shutter was open. It has such a mysterious deep inviting tonality with the rich blue shades of the ocean and the last glorious pinks of the summer sunset.
Rock'n Sunset
ASILOMAR STATE BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 100 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is part of my 'Sunset Splash' Series all taken June 7-8, 2020 on the stretch of coastline from Pebble Beach near China Rock to Pacific Grove on the Asilomar State Beach.
Photographing the sunset over the ocean is always one of my favorite things to do. The trick can be finding interesting foregrounds and capturing the action of the waves. I loved how the waves were splashing on the rock in the lower third so I timed it just as the sun was going down and luckily captured a wonderful splash at the right moment.
Asilomar State Beach is one of the best beaches on the Monterey Peninsula. The beautiful white sands stretch for a mile along the rugged coastline and are bordered on the ends with fields of rocks. Asilomar (meaning "Asylum or refuge by the sea" and pronounced a-SIL-o-mar) is a combination of two Spanish words: "asilo" and "mar" See this blog post if you would like to read more about the Monterey area.
What is ICM Photography?
In intentional camera movement (ICM), a camera is moved during the exposure for a creative or artistic effect. This causes the image points to move across the recording medium, producing an apparent streaking in the resulting image.
The process involves the selection of an aperture and the use of filters to achieve a suitable shutter speed. Proponents experiment both with the duration of the exposure and the direction and amount of camera movement while the shutter is open. Generally exposures of 1/20 to 1/2 second give the best results and an optimum seems to be 1/8th of a second to retain the shape of the subject, but strip away surface detail.[1] The effect depends significantly on the direction that the camera is moved in relation to the subject as well as the speed of the movement.
If light levels are high the use of neutral density filters will reduce the light entering the lens, thus enabling the exposure to be extended. A polarising filter can also be fitted to the lens. This has a dual effect of reducing reflections within the image and reducing the light by about two stops. Photographers set the camera's ISO setting to the lowest available on the camera (commonly 100), as this reduces the camera's sensitivity to light and so gives the slowest possible shutter speed.
The direction of movement of the lens has a dramatic effect on the results.[2] Patience is required along with much experimentation to establish where and how to move the camera to achieve the desired effect. The camera can be moved upwards, downwards, to the right or left or away from or towards the subject while being handheld. The camera may also be turned, angled, and rapidly moved back and forth.[3]
Leading proponents of the technique include Ernst Haas, Douglas Barkey,[4] Alexey Titarenko[5][6] and (from as early as 1962) Kōtarō Tanaka.[7] Rome: Renato Cerisola - 1953-2003 Eni's Way, 2003.Takahiro Kawamura (川村高弘),[8]
Monterey County, California
Monterey County, officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 415,057.[5] The county seat and largest city is Salinas.[6]
Monterey County comprises the Salinas, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It borders the Monterey Bay, from which it derives its name. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. Monterey County is a member of the regional governmental agency, Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
The coastline, including Big Sur, State Route 1, and the 17 Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula, has made the county world-famous. The city of Monterey was the capital of California under Spanish and Mexican rule. The economy is primarily based upon tourism in the coastal regions and agriculture in the Salinas River valley. Most of the county's people live near the northern coast and Salinas Valley, while the southern coast and inland mountain regions are sparsely populated.