Mysterious Rangitoto Photo

Photographer’s Note

Rangitoto is Māori for Bloody Sky, while the island is the largest and youngest of about 50 volcanic cones and craters in the Auckland volcanic field. It was said to have erupted from the sea in a series of dramatic explosions around 600 years ago, and is now extinct.

Taken at dawn from Takapuna Beach.

bakes888, clio, eversmile, pablominto, Kielia, skippy007, PixelTerror has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

phwall (5532) 2009-06-20 19:06

Hi Jim,
You seem to be getting up very early a lot lately.
A fantastic capture, the dawn colours are simply stunning. I'm glad you resisted the temptation to lighten the foreground stones, I think the black foreground with the sky light reflected in the water looks amazing.
Beautiful shot, captured perfectly.
Regards
Peter

bakes888 (18055) 2009-06-20 19:34

Hi Jim. 30 seconds is a nice exposure to flatten out the sea, wonderful predawn colours and beautiful composition. The results show a definite advantage to getting up early! Nice work and thanks for sharing.
Have a good Sunday, Paul.

clio (22544) 2009-06-21 1:08

Hi Jim,
Another fantastic photo. The atmosphere created by these red tints and the black of stones is in perfect harmony with the subject.
We have almost the impression that the explosion has just occurred. The long exposure brings a silky aspect to the water.
Great!
Diane

eversmile (5995) 2009-06-21 2:01

Hi Jim!

It's fanf***kingtastic! The delicate hues, the sharp shadows of the rocks in the water, the volcano in the perspective... that's a very good composition, Jim! Added to your skill, the effect of the Singh-Ray filter is overwhelming!...
Regards
Marine

gentedilivello (1801) 2009-06-21 2:14

Hi Jim,
what a lovely view! You managed perfectly the light wuth the long exposure. The nuances of the sky and sea are superb.
Have a good sunday.
Gabriele.

Focales (514) 2009-06-21 3:00

Bonjour Jim,
Les couleurs sont fantastiques et cette mer de coton magnifique. Je suis fan de couchers de soleil et cherche toujours à en découvrir de nouveaux tant leur variété est grande.
Beau travail.

delpeoples (5790) 2009-06-21 6:51

Hi Jim, and you say I should be called Silky Exposure??? No way, this shot is spectacular, how absolutely bloody beautiful (and straight!!). The hues are just amazing and I love the sillouhettes. And as a wannabe long-exposure student - this shot is the benchmark. Here endeth the lesson, methinks. Congratulations on a killer photo and thanks for sharing it, Lisa.

pablominto (40390) 2009-06-26 3:13

Hello Jim,

I have seen many pictures showing this volcano, but never as outstanding as this!
The time of day adds atmosphere and wonderful colours, the view is well composed with awesome details...

Greetings,
Pablo -

Kielia (8373) 2009-06-26 11:57

Hi Jim,
this is really a fantastic impression with an incredibly beautiful light. As already mentioned, it is - due to the amazing colors - among the most fascinating images from this region. Congratulation!
Warm regards
Harriet

skippy007 (6957) 2009-06-29 19:28

Hello Jim, Nice to see you back in action again, although I have been a little quite lately myself for various reasons, for a while there I kept looking at your gallery but there were no new postings, when you critiqued mine I knew exactly who it was, I was surprised to see the old images gone but not disappointed with your new ones, I stopped to comment on this because I thought it was was typically you in colour. detail & content. A very beautiful composition with lovely predawn colours with the advantage of rising early very clearly visible. Well captured & nicely presented.
Thanks
Take care
Santo

PixelTerror (86038) 2009-06-30 2:54

HI Jim
I like these long exposure shots on water edge, here it's interesting to see how the foreground water is perfectly still while the water in the distance shakes a bit, nice spreading of the warmth as well, I like this image a lot !
Have a nice day JY

Waylim (10741) 2009-07-01 0:02

Hello Jim,
Such a wonderful light and beautiful palette of colors, so rich and so soft and smooth as silk, the gradiation of colors is perfectly blend in. All is calm and peaceful, maybe just some light breeze. The exposure is perfect to capture the intensity of the landscape with such soft texture. I really enjoyed it and wish to be there by your side. Except I don't like getting up early in the morning but I can make an exception once in a while.
Way

Angshu (33533) 2009-07-01 22:25

Hello Jim
I don't think I can comment anything different about this picture than what I had done in flickr! This is quite amazing...love the perspective created by the rocks, the pastel colours are out of the world, on the sky & reflected in the water. Love the silhouette of the volcano and the effect of the half minute exposure on the water. The filter must be great, but a filter alone cannot do all the work! It's the man behind the lens...
Regards
Angshu

ahmetgedikli (21783) 2009-08-20 1:29

Very good capture... Wonderful view with superb colours and light. Well done!
Have a nice day.
ahmet gedikli