Carol Watson, QPSA  

Old Sea Defences by Carol Watson, QPSA

October 2025 - Old Sea Defences

October 2025 - Carol Watson, QPSA

Original

October 2025 - Carol Watson, QPSA

Original 2

About the Image(s)

This image was taken on our recent holiday in Norfolk. We visited a little town called Happisburgh on the east coast where there are lots of old wooden groynes used to protect the coast from erosion. The image was taken with my Olympus OM-1 set on a tripod, as I was using a 10 stop ND filter for a long exposure to smooth the water. The camera settings were manual focus, f11, 30s, ISO 80 and +1 stop. I made the following changes in Photoshop after initial processing in Camera Raw.

- Cloned out the original bird as I didn’t like the position below the horizon.
- Replaced the sky as I wanted something a little more subtle than the fluffy white clouds.
- Added a new bird (a cormorant taken on the same day).
- Added a gradient fill layer in soft blend mode to lighten the horizon and darken the top and bottom of the image.
- Converted to mono using Nik Silver Efex.
- Did a bit of burning to enhance the shadows of the posts.
- Added a vignette using Nik Efex Darken Lighten Centre

6 comments posted

Georgianne Giese   Georgianne Giese
What a lovely scene! You did a great job with the silky water and the sky replacement. I have never been able to resist taking similar images when on the coast. There is something nostalgic about such scenes.
I felt a bit uncomfortable about the bird looking out of the image, so I moved him forward, to the left and cropped the image a bit tighter. What do you think?
  Posted: 10/04/2025 20:35:08
Denise McKay   Denise McKay
Georgi - if you intended to add an image it is not showing up.   Posted: 10/12/2025 16:54:54
Denise McKay   Denise McKay
This is a peaceful, serene scene. The smoothness of the sky and water looks really nice to my eye. I like your conversion to monochrome and including the bird as well. I do wonder if placing the bird on the short post on the far left would improve the image? He/she would then be looking towards the larger fence posts to draw you into the image a bit more.

Very nice image!   Posted: 10/12/2025 17:01:10
Jan Handman   Jan Handman
Great image Carol! I didn't even notice the bird in the original, so it was a good idea to take it out. The cormorant is a perfect addition, but I agree with Denise that putting it on the short post would balance everything a bit more and make it face towards the rest of the scene. I also wondered if a tad more contrast would work, so I used PS to try both. I also cropped it a tiny bit on the right. Love the B/W treatment and your new sky. Well done.   Posted: 10/14/2025 21:59:59
Comment Image
Rita Johnston   Rita Johnston
Carol, lovely image. I really like all your did to convert to B&W. I too like the bird on the short pole and the enhanced contrast. I think you have a winner here, with lots of mood.   Posted: 10/20/2025 16:16:55
Mary Hinsen   Mary Hinsen
Kia ora Carol - this is a wonderful image. I have a slightly different perspective to the others. I like the cormorant looking out of the image. Birds are always looking for food, scanning for predators, on alert and ready to fly. Not following the rules adds to the story that I see in this image. Just a different perspective!
I also love your black and white conversion, and change of sky.   Posted: 10/23/2025 03:34:15

 

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