Industrial Sunset Photo

Photographer’s Note

What a sheer delight it is to clear one’s agenda from meetings & appointments with a few track-ball or mouse clicks upon the announcement of glorious afternoon weather after too much overcast days, and speed to the coast. Last Wednesday we both did this and went to the Hoek van Holland beach 30 km from Rotterdam: wide, almost empty and a blue sky with streaks of clouds and of course the ubiquitous thin layer of smog on the horizon. We walked on the sand, leaning against the wind, emptying the mind and feeling a ruddy cheek vigour building up. Wonderful.

After savouring this for almost 2 hours we turned round again to head back home. And the perspective changed dramatically. We always forget how special this is. A spectacular hybrid panorama enfolded itself. In the foreground the playful waves of the North Sea, the small tidal pools, the seagulls and small beach-walkers foraging on washed ashore ‘fruits de mer’ …….
…..…and in the background the Maasvlakte harbour & industrial area (part of the Port of Rotterdam). The cranes of the EMO bulk (mainly iron ore) terminal are on the left and the pulverized coal & biomass fired 1000 MW twin electrical plant from E.ON Benelux with its 171 m. chimneys is on the right. It’s the biggest NOx (8500 tons/year) polluter in the Netherlands.
Two wind-turbines of the Maasvlakte turbine park are also displayed. The park consists of 9 turbines and produces 14 MW.
Since it was 16.30 h. when we turned around the whole scene was bathed in a glorious red & yellow early evening light and we put our cams to good use.

This is my first venture in Photoshop CS pp-land. Quite a big step forward from PS-E2 - thanx Rinie, for showing the way.
PCS tech (16 bit/channel mode): tilt corrected, cropped, saturation (master, reds, yellows) boosted/altered, adjusted levels & contrast, curves manipulated, USM-ed in lab colour mode, frame added and saved for the web.

jp80, cyril, RGatward, supereira, jackwp, jhm, elroyie, nwoehnl, pamastro, technogran, sayzey, tasfoto, Jeppe, Rinie_Hoff, loupiot, Xalkida, Albrecht has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jp80 (8437) 2004-11-26 3:51

Very nice and warm colors for this sunset. The sky and reflexions in water are beautiful. I like the crop. Well made !

Pascal

cyril (2748) 2004-11-26 4:30

Hi Bert,
Too much to say on this picture.
Composition is great:
I like the birds and the man on the left side.
The shapes made by the water is nice.
Maybe too much space for the sky.
Colours:
Just as it should be. Warm et soft colours for this beautiful sky.
Well I like it.
Nice seen and done
Cyril

RGatward (19737) 2004-11-26 4:33

There's a lot going on here, but it all comes together well, and somehow, without making for a fussy, cluttered compo. Very clever to achieve that. The two smoking stacks in the distance are very well placed, as is the guy taking a walk.

billabongx (1561) 2004-11-26 4:49

Colors are amazing! I like it how you put the horizon in the middle.

supereira (9576) 2004-11-26 5:41

I like a lot the composition and the framing.Great colors and good conmtrast between them.I like the reflections the sun.I like the birds and the man on the left side.Great light and sharpness.Well done!

dkeus31 (26154) 2004-11-26 6:17

Nice colors, foreground with the man and birds.
Well taken part of the industry.

jackwp (519) 2004-11-26 7:08

A very busy and colorful capture. Well done.

jhm (82319) 2004-11-26 8:00

Het is werkelijk de periode om dergelijke mooie beelden te maken Bert, U was juist op de goede plaats om de windmolen tesamen met de moderne fabrieksschoorstenen met rook en al op beeld vast te leggen. De verschillendekleuren aan de hemel die dan geprojecteerd worden tot op de voorgrond, en waar zich noch watervogels bevinden, dit alles samen kan men zeker spreken van een grote samenstelling Bert.
Goed gezien, gemoet er oog voor hebben!

elroyie (2750) 2004-11-26 11:20

Emazing colours and very good picture, it seem to be a beautiful place in those colours, the little bird in sky adds a lot.

harold (2271) 2004-11-26 12:41

belle composition, Bert, même en pleine zone industrielle le soleil qui se couche peut tout embellir.

nwoehnl (118) 2004-11-26 13:56

This is really amazing, Bert. You made the most beautiful and even aesthetic-looking scene from this array of industrial structures. The light is special, the gulls and the person in between the water puddles and the seawaves are a great add, and the silhouettes are really well placed. I agree with Elroyie that the flying bird adds a great detail on top of it all. Well done.

carper (64638) 2004-11-26 14:30

Prachtig atmosfeer photo,
de kleuren zijn fantastich, Ja Bert je kan hele mooie foto's schieten bij de Hoek. Ik denk dat ik van de winter ook nog wel een wat van die sfeer ga proeven daar. Ik vind het machtig met al die binnenkomende zeeschepen. Erg goed werk Bert.

Zanni (5885) 2004-11-26 16:13

You transformed a horrible landscape in something special. You sublimated your passion for industrial world finding with success a compromise with nature. The variety melts in a original and unique composition.

avigur_11 (21273) 2004-11-26 17:28

I like this purple-orange composition, Bert. It looks a bit like a negative, but it creates a very strong impact. I like the strong industrial touch. Very good shot.

pamastro (7213) 2004-11-27 1:27

This sunset is beautiful! The colors are amazing. And what is more is the atypical subject matter on the horizon. Typically we see trees or seas. But this one is really interesting and made more attractive with the mix of industrial objects. The old smokestacks with smoke spewing meshes nicely with the clean future of energy, wind power. The cranes add to the interesting silhouettes. The lonely person and the birds silhouetted against the beautiful reflections on the watery sand is beautiful. Cool and calm and quiet. And all the textures in the sky. I could go on and on, I think, with this one. But it all comes down to the atypical subject matter on the horizon, I think. Excellent work.

Georges (11183) 2004-11-27 7:35

Les couleurs sont eclatantes sur cette prise avec des degardés orangés trés bien percus.
Bravo pour cette image Bert.

technogran (1339) 2004-11-27 11:30

Stunning colours and depth in this "Beauty and the Beast" scene. The warm colours reflected on the wet sand are really lovely. Even the ugly smoke stacks and wind turbines make interesting silhouettes in the background. Great composition.

ma-tibou (4566) 2004-11-27 12:15

bonsoir Bert malgré les entreprises environantes , une composition très jolie, de belles couleurs de beaux détails avec ces personnes et ces oiseaux en contre jour, jolie réalisation, bravo.
Amitié/ martine.

c_kyr (1810) 2004-11-27 16:43

Great photo.
Not only the colors are beautiful, but the shapes of the wind fans, the smoke, the birds and the human figure create a wodnerful composition.
Very well done!

sayzey (2358) 2004-12-03 8:54

WOW! I really love this photo, all the colours are amazing, its simply fantastic!

Some people would be put off by the industry but theres industry close to me too and I know what stunning contrasts they can have on such a beautiful sunset such as this.

the birds and moden windmills also add to the photo, very busy, and lots to notice.

Well done!

Hanssie (9133) 2004-12-06 14:24

Oooh, mooi, very good light shining into my room, wonderful!
Funny to see the industry against the clean energy, great composition too, Bert, nice shot !

Isabelle (9014) 2004-12-08 19:21

hi bert :)
i,ve been looking to your picture for the last 3 minutes... scrolling up and down, for part of me want it split in 2 halves... :) but the other part likes a lot the compo as is.
wonderful colors, for sure. makes me wonder if the place is noisy.
anyway, you have a great image... or two, depending on the mood :D
thanks for sharing!

Jeppe (18623) 2004-12-15 14:52

Oh very excellent capture and well chosen title as well - I can reconize some of elements from my former shot (Towers of Copenhagen) but you got a very fine sunset as well - thanks Bert for sharing this great work - I like the mix of life and objects and golden colours.

Rinie_Hoff (9332) 2005-01-02 11:52

Hi Bert, really nice capture of a winter sunset, usually far more spectaculair than the summer ones.
The contours of the wind turbines, the cranes and the two chimneys stand out very nicely against the background.
The sky is beautiful, and the lonely gull in the sky is great.
The colours are really unbelievable, although a bit saturated, I know in this time of year, it can be great, Dec. 27 I've cap[tured a great sunset.
This one's going right into my favorites!

loupiot (3909) 2005-02-05 10:16

Les couleurs de celle-ci sont aussi superbes! La composition est excellente avec la silhouette des éoliennes et la fumée des usines dans le lointain. J'aime aussi beaucoup la multitude d'oiseaux sur la plage. Une très belle image, bravo!

Xalkida (11740) 2005-07-22 6:51

How I missed this masterpiece? I don't know! Anyway...

Excellent composition. Very fine special lighting, good soft colors and very fine shapes! Excellent work!

Luciana (2161) 2005-09-11 23:00

Cores e composição perfeitas!
Tudo na imagem ficou harmonioso. As chaminés das fábricas, os pássaros no chão e o que está voando, a pessoa indo... a luz do sol... perfeito.

Albrecht (11004) 2005-12-09 1:38

Hoi Bert
Lang niet gezien.
Dit is een hele mooie;prachtige lucht en een perfecte compo van mens, natuur en industrie.
Groetjes Albrecht

brigondino (98) 2006-03-06 4:30