Stream That Ran Out of Steam Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is a small stream ending at Hyams Beach, which is central on Jervis Bay. It was small enough that I couldn’t find it on a map or any literature so I can’t give you the name of it but it is typical of many small streams I’ve seen in New South Wales, and last year in South Australia. I don’t know if it’s the dry conditions that cause this, but they just seem to just end, several feet from the ocean. It would be interesting to study, to see what kind of life lives in these waters.

Closer to the ocean you can see the famous white sands of Hyams Beach. The buildings, just barely seen across the water are part of the HMAS Creswell, originally built by the Australian government as a Naval Training College, and of course those great Eucalypts, run along most of Jervis Bay.

I have included another shot of this stream, taken from the end and looking up-stream, in the workshop.

Workflow
I follow a generic workflow now as outlined in my Bio.
Details and differences to this are as follows:
Shot taken at 17mm, ISO 250, f/13, 1/90 sec
Curves – trees masked
Saturation increased to +40 on master, (to match web colour – proof colours with shot)
Overlay layer with 5% opacity black brush used for burning
Saved at 81% quality for 196K (300K limit would be nice)

jusninasirun, zeca, crckt, Matthew-Watt, ktanska, jhm, albertz, Waylim, MLINES, skippy007, bakes888, alftrek has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

crckt (7076) 2008-05-19 19:52

Hi John,
Very happy to find your photo right next to mine, it is truly my pleasure! What a fabulous shot this is, especially the colors! Neat composition too.
Well done,
Shaeri

bracasha75 (22139) 2008-05-19 23:52

Helo John

Very good composition and

nice nature image

Realy lovely country side of

Australia

TFS

Cheers,Braca

Giorgio (8716) 2008-05-20 0:05

- Nice composition with this curious tongue of water on the beach, anyway, bravo, this is successful, TFS and greetings.
giorgio

ktanska (16585) 2008-05-20 0:11

Hi John,
Great rhyming title. Not so rare sight I guess. Waves pile sand to a bit higher banks and flow of water isn't strong enough to keep passage open, water filters through the sand instead.
Well chosen PoV showing that curve. WS is excellent too.
Kari

MarcT (21099) 2008-05-20 2:09

Hi John,
Strange place and interesting note.
Your title is excellent too.
Cheers
Marc

jhm (82629) 2008-05-20 4:00

Hello John,

I looked to your splendid WS, it's very nice done, only have to you little bit be careful with high lights, you can see to the sky.
This picture here, depth and good perspective.
Composition and colours are very well, also the small water of the stream in foreground make this picture attractive.
Very well done, thanks for sharing.

Best regards,
John.

angela926 (1882) 2008-05-20 11:47

Hello John,
great shot, excellent composition and point of view, good sharpness and depth of fiel,d, beautiful colors and nice light.
Angela

zeca (20026) 2008-05-20 20:54

The nature is beautiful and you've found a nie POV, John. The water in the foreground adds nice interest. Good to see that clouds!
Regards,
Zeca

jusninasirun (10209) 2008-05-20 20:59

Hello John. Beautiful low angle shot capturing this lagoon with clear water. It seems disappearing to the top left like a stream going nowhere. I like the lush green on the right in natural color continuing with a peep at the ocean. Good prospect with the blue sky and puffy white cloud. Well done and best regards. Jusni

albertz (2310) 2008-05-21 1:37

Nice catch of this small stream from a closer distance, i also wonder what type of species could leave in this kind of environment. Your note and the composition goes well together and i congratulate you for that. Well done.

Thanks for the last tip as i always set it to 200K limit. Greeting from Thailand.
Albert

sacimar (7401) 2008-05-21 10:55

Hi John,

interesting beach, I like the colours of the sky, good details and good composition,

Regards

Sergio

Waylim (10843) 2008-05-21 12:45

John,
I enjoyed both the workshop and this original. While this image give an overall landscape with beautiful blue sky with nice puffy clouds and dense forest hillside, the sea and the distant island or penensila. The workshop give us a much better view of the stream. Great image on both. Technically great as always and nice processing and info. Thank you John.
Way

MLINES (10884) 2008-05-21 14:46

Hi John, It is a good composition and the light was ideal for these photos including the WS which is interesting also. I like the sharp contrast between the white sand and the tannin-filled stream. You are an intrepid visitor of so many places i've not seen yet. TFS. Murray.

skippy007 (7111) 2008-05-22 17:00

Hi John, Thanks for this lovely shot, I have seen this many times & never gave it a second thought, This is one of the things(there are many) I get out of looking at your photos, that is that you notice things & draw my attention to them, scenes that I take for granted having lived here for over 50 yrs. Nice clear composition, lovely colours & good low POV. Good note.
Thanks again
Santo

bakes888 (18245) 2008-05-23 1:50

Hi John. We have these “short” streams here also, I think the water just soaks away in the sands during low flows. Beautiful white sands and the gums have a character all there own, familiar here as many are planted here. Well composed and prepped. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.
Yep, 300K would be nice, and few more pixels on the long side wouldn’t go amiss also ;-).

pboehringer (770) 2008-05-23 9:38

John,
I was 2 weekends ago at Point Reyes, some 40 miles north of San Francisco. The regio is pretty famous for being a peninsula that is separated by the Amercian mainlaind by the infamous San Andreas Fault.
The area has many small beaches and little creeks that flow down the cliffs and end up in the sand just like the one that you're presenting here. I got a very similar shot as you did it here. I guess that the fresh water starts flowing into the sand and gets to the sea subterraneously during low tide and at high tide it flows into the Pacific Ocean.
I like the composition a lot with the bending water although I have the impression that the foreground is somewhat to dominant. A small crop could be useful.
Peter

pablominto (40788) 2008-05-24 4:50

Hello John,
An interesting occurrence shown in a well balanced composition!
Maybe the stream passes the last meters underground...
A classic composition with good clean colours!
Greetings,
Pablo -

alftrek (2819) 2008-05-28 4:17

Hello John,

Thanks for the detailed sharing of your workflow in the Intro. I am still a long way from learning CS3 but I will get there. Your photos convinced me that PP is necessary without overdoing.

The stream here makes all the difference. The sandy beach shows good details without getting white washed which happens to several of my earlier shots.

Terrific work.

Regards
Alfred

dvlazar (6488) 2008-06-02 22:06

Hi John,
Good landscape here - with an interesting stream that just stops. Quite unusual sight it seems!
Nicely composed.

Cheers,
dave