Entry | Atlantic Beach, NC
It’s been a great while since I’ve shared a beach sunset, in fact, it’s been a while since I’ve shot one. But, I’ve had this one in my pocket for a few weeks and felt now was a good time to share.
This was shot on Atlantic Beach, near the Oceanana Pier early this spring. As the sun was setting, I could tell by the streaking low clouds that it was going to be a colorful one. Using a wide angle lens, I was able to get the entire span of the cloud’s arch in the shot. I love how it feels like it’s creating an entry way, a path down the beach. Come on in!
The Shot: Nikon D90, Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 lens. Tripod held, remote fired. f/16, 2”, ISO-200.
Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Entrance | Washington DC
Purchase prints here.
I awoke to cloudy skies on the morning of my visit to Arlington National Cemetery, and I’m glad I did. The photos I shot in there just wouldn’t have the same mood and feeling if it was a bright and sunny day. It is such a hallowed and somber place that I wish I could be in there all alone, without the noisy fieldtrippers who do not yet understand or have the appreciation for such things. Don’t get me wrong, that was me last time I visited our nation’s capital—a 5th grader who really didn’t ‘get it.’ Visiting for the first time as an adult, I immediately felt the appreciation for the history and culture that all of Washington DC represents.
When I first emerged from the Metro, I could see this fountain and knew immediately that I wanted to spend some time shooting it. After a brief stop at the visitor’s center, I walked up to find a maintenance truck parked right in the middle of the center arch. My wife and I walked around the cemetery for a while, found some cherry blossoms, watched the Changing of the Guard and came back to get this before leaving.
The shot: Nikon D90, Rokinon 8mm /f3.5. 3 exposures, tonemapped in Photomatix, finished in Photoshop CS4 with Nik Color Efex and Nik Viveza.
2/24/12: Severe Weather in the Carolinas
New Bern, NC
45 second exposure of fast moving clouds as more severe weather moves into the area at approximately 6:30pm.
©2012 Zach Frailey
A February Storm Chase
After a routine print delivery to Vanceboro, NC, I noticed some neat clouds in the sky. As I drove along, I began to see a really big billowing storm cloud that normally brings severe summer weather. Driving blindly with my eyes on the clouds, I took twists and turns until I had no idea where I was. That’s when I came down a very long, straight road, cut a u-turn, got out of my Jeep and laid down on the road to shoot. I went up and down this stretch of road and I must have been there for over half an hour and never saw another car. There was a brief period where the wind really kicked up and I thought the movie ‘Twister’ was going to play out in front of me, but luckily it blew by with nothing more than a little rain!
Big thanks to Accuweather.com and The Weather Channel for the mention and share both online and on air today!
Off Season in the Marina | New Bern, NC
I caught this scene at the sun set on February 13 from the Bridgepointe Hotel and Marina in New Bern. The marina is not so busy in these off-season month, but will surely start to ‘heat up’ as the weather likewise does. I liked how the yacht and sailboat to the right filled the negative space opposite of the clouds and reflections to balance this photo out. It really leads the eye across the frame, which I like.
I bracketed three exposures for this scene, but standing on a floating dock, things didn’t line up very well. I auto-aligned the frames with Nik’s HDR Efex Pro (a program I actually use very little) and then masked the reflection on the boat’s window, the water and some of the clouds back in from the original layers.
The shot: Nikon D90, 18-105mm Nikkor VR lens, tripod held (while bobbing up and down on a floating dock). Nik HDR Efex for merging of three exposures, original layers masked back in using Photoshop CS4. Nik Color Efex and Viveza for finishing.
