Well, finally back from vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, where I had a great extended weekend with my wife and our three siblings. The forecast was originally for rain all weekend, but we ended up only getting about a half hour of it, during dinner on Friday so it didn’t even really affect us. Took a little over 1,000 pictures, and with all the shooting I have been doing recently with the fisheye (which I have to send back tomorrow), I have a ton of pictures to process.
.jpg "On the Boardwalk")
Click on image to view large in lightbox
I was debating about which picture to post first from this weekend, and while I took quite a few pictures that I am excited to process, I wanted to really show what Ocean City is in the first post. So here it is, one of my favorite parts of Ocean City, the Boardwalk. Stretching over 30 blocks, from 28th Street down, the Boardwalk houses games, restaurants, shops and of course, hotels. We stayed right on 24th Street, which is a considerable walk to the “fun” part of the Boardwalk, but it was very nice to have stayed right on the beach. I actually took this shot just yesterday morning, as my brother (pictured in the middle in the red shirt along with my wife, sister and sister in law) wanted to find a last minute souvenir for his girlfriend. Still armed with the fisheye, I hopped up on the bench, snapped 5 exposures and continued on my way.
Like I said, this is a 5 exposure HDR processed with Photomatix and CS4. I first tonemapped the +2 exposure to mask in all the people moving (although I noticed I missed one…can you find him?), as well as used the 0 EV shot to mask in an ever so slight halo. I added a Tonal Contrast filter to everything but the sky, and a Pro Contrast (Color Efex) and Firenze and Dreamland filter (onOne PhotoTools) to the entire image. Added an S Curve to increase overall contrast, straightened it just a tad, took a step back, and was happy with the result.
I’ll do my best to catch up on everyone’s great work today. If I can’t get to you this morning, I definitely will tomorrow.
As much as I miss the beach already, it is always nice to be home.
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Welcome back, Dave!
I’m sure you really enjoyed the time away with the family. These are ways wonderful opportunities to create some memories.
Love this photo, that fisheye really brings in a whole new element. Very nicely processed! Looking forward to the many other goodies you’ve captured.
I agree, we love to travel and visit places but it’s always nice to get back home as well. Dorothy was right, “there’s no place like home”. LOL
welcome back Dave and great to see that famous boardwalk! nicely done! hope you had a great time and looking forward to all the shots!
Welcome back Dave. Gorgeous shot of the boardwalk!
Glad you had a nice trip! Great comp on the shot here… The fisheye seems like it is working out well for you!
Well done! I am very much looking forward to more from this series!
Love the intimate curve of the boardwalk created by the fisheye! Definitely enhances the shopping/walking experience for the viewer. Just so cool Dave!
Great shot Dave. Its guess its the guy on the left you missed. Regardles, its a great shot. I like that you are very consistent in your HDR work – I guess you found your style, and I dig it!
Btw. Thanks for stopping by on my blurp.
Great shot, for those of us in England the Boardwalk is an interesting concept. We tend to have wooden piers that stretch out into the sea or concrete promenades along the beach, never seen something like this over here.
Love the processing and the use of the fish works really well
Great shot!! I can’t find the ghost! haha. Great use of the fisheye! I need to get myself one of those…
Really like the fisheye effect coupled with the muted colors. Gives a great feel to the image
Thanks Jimi! Yeah, it was great to get away. Even though we have been there a ton of times, we always find new stuff to do!
Thanks Jim! Yeo, many more to come!
Thank you Chris!
It sure is Chris! Just sad that I only have one more day with it!
Thank you so much Toad!
Thanks a lot Barbara!
Thanks Jan, and no problem at alL!
Thanks a lot Chris! It seems like there are Boardwalks everywhere you go alon the east coast. Never been out west yet, so not sure if it’s the same there.
They are certainly addicting Adam! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks a lot Len, I appreciate the visit!
Every summer for the past five years, I’ve taken my teens to a different shore point, in different states, for our summer vacation. This year, I struggled to find a location that we could all enjoy – until I viewed your images of Ocean City. I was instantly hooked.
There aren’t enough superlatives to describe how much I enjoy your work. At least from my point of view, it’s inspired a journey that may turn out to be our last summer vacation together before they begin to head off to college and their adult lives. Your images will become part of my memories of this time.
Thank you.
Wow Sharon, thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words, and I hope you enjoy the trip! My parents provided us kids with many, many fond memories of Ocean City, and I am sure you will do the same!