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Up to the Gunnels – Schooner Sylvina W. Beal

Schooner Sylvina W. Beal
The schooner Sylvina W. Beal sits with the gunnels awash next the Burnham Shipyard in Essex, MA. 16mm/24mm

Harold Burnham is going to rehab this old schooner the Sylvina W. Beal over the next two years but for the moment she has been tied up next to his shipyard in Essex, MA. This gave me a great opportunity to check out my most versatile lens the 16-80 mm or in 35mm full frame terms 24-120mm. This is a great range and which these images will give you an idea of. The morning was very still and the water was barely moving when I arrived in Essex. The reflections were outstanding and gave me some very nice images of this vessel at high tide.

Schooner Sylvina W. Beal
The schooner Sylvina W. Beal sits with the gunnels awash next the Burnham Shipyard in Essex, MA. 80mm/120mm

The reflections, peeling paint, and old hull made for some intriguing compositional elements. In black and white this became even more apparent.

Schooner Sylvina W. Beal
The schooner Sylvina W. Beal sits with the gunnels awash next the Burnham Shipyard in Essex, MA.

Walking around for different vantage points gave me some even more exciting images using this great all-purpose lens! I shoot mostly at the wide and long end with very little at the 35mm/50mm mark so this latitude was a true god send for this particular project.

Schooner Maine
The schooner Maine sits abandoned next the Burnham Shipyard in Essex, MA. 80mm/120mm

The old abandoned hull of the schooner Maine sits sunk in the mud near the Burnham Shipyard in Essex. The long throw of the 16-80 gives some nice perspective on this rotting relic.

Schooner Sylvina W. Beal
The schooner Sylvina W. Beal sits with the gunnels awash next the Burnham Shipyard in Essex, MA.

Another shot using the 16-80 at 16/24mm also gives some nice perspective. I really enjoyed the outing with this lens as I find myself using it more and more as my go to lens. Below is the video on my experience photographing the Beal.

Working the composition

One of the things that I teach in my workshops is to work the composition. What this means is to not just make one image. When you see something that catches your eye, make the shot that initially pulled you in then look for other angles moving the camera position around and trying new shots. This morning I found some great looking window boxes out in front of the Rockport Art Association. I was pulled in by this initial scene below.

fall window box
Fall window box at the Rockport Art Association

It’s not bad, but in post I did nothing to make it better, like cropping in from the left a little more. Instead I worked the scene a little more with the following images.

These images are ok, but as I looked around I noticed that the window box next to it had what I was looking for. I placed the cabbage in the lower right corner leading up to the bright orange mini pumpkins in the left corner. I decided to have the cabbage (or whatever you call it) in sharp focus and the pumpkins a little out which helps your eye start out right in the middle of the cabbage. At this close distance f8 will still render the background out of focus which is what I was aiming for.

I love the way the flower here is in sharp focus and the veins of the leaf pull you up to the pumpkins and then the red berries pull you back around to the plant in the foreground again. So the viewers eye keeps moving around the image. Then as I was about to leave another composition pulled me in from the same window box but to the right of this.

The vine with the red berries pulls you up to the pumpkin then out to the left of the frame and then circles back in again. I love it when things come together.

Foggy Morning Walk

Unless the weather is really lousy out I try to take about an hour walk around Rockport or Gloucester looking for interesting images. Last week I decided to also film it for my weekly vlog on YouTube. It was a fun experience and more like what I like to do photographically. I’m not really much of a tripod guy but I do try and get out for some stick landscape work once in a while. This particular morning the light was find of flat and it was kind of foggy but I enjoyed it just the same. I used a fun Fuji rig for this shoot the Fuji X-T30 and the XF 16-80.

Here are some of the images from the shoot.

Rockport lobster boats wait to go out
Rockport lobster boats wait to go out.

 

Colorful work dinghy's sit idle at the Rockport town wharf
Colorful work dinghy’s sit idle at the Rockport town wharf.

 

Dinghy triangles
Dinghy’s waiting at the Rockport Town Wharf form interesting triangles.

 

Colorful reflections Rockport Harbor
Colorful reflections Rockport Harbor.

 

Lobster traps and buoys
Lobster traps and buoys wait to be used behind Bearskin Neck in Rockport.

 

Lobster buoys and nets
A potted plant dies away with old lobster buoy’s and fish netting behind Bearskin Neck.

 

Old wooden lobster trap and buoys.
Old wooden lobster trap and buoys behind Bearskin Neck in Rockport.

 

Bailers and buckets
Cut off Chorox bottles and a pale sit inside a row boat filled with water.

Here is the YouTube video on my Foggy Morning Shoot