More Cobb in the Fog

Thank you to those of you who have already made constructive comments about my Cobb in the Fog post.  There was some suggestion that the image may respond well to a mono treatment.  I have, therefore, revisited the image and here are a couple more interpretations.  I obviously haven’t spent long on this effort, in fact I have largely used the presets available in Lightroom.

Fog on the Cobb 2 – (Blue Hi Contrast)
A Sea Mist over the Cobb at Lyme Regis, Dorset.

This first image has simply been produced using the Blue Filter Hi Contrast preset in Lightroom.The second image was made using the Split Tone 1 preset and adding an Inverse Grad Filter with some increased clarity in the foreground.

Fog on the Cobb 2 – (LR Split Tone 1 + Inverse Clarity Grad)
A Sea Mist over the Cobb at Lyme Regis, Dorset.

I think that I prefer the second of these, however I do expect some differences of opinion from readers.  I’m very happy to hear them.

It further occurs to me that I have now got a Topaz bundle, which may well offer some further potential for playing with this image.  First though, I have some learning to do.

Cobb in the Fog

I took this photo of the Cobb at Lyme Regis because of the sea mist that was rolling in.  It was rather different from other photos that I have taken there previously.  In most of them, there have been too many people, and never any mist.

The Cobb always produces a nice ‘lead in’ to the photo, and in this instance it was leading out to the two lads fishing on the end of the wall, who were partially obscured by the mist.  I wonder though, whether it is a bit of a nonsense to lead in to a point of focus which is actually obscured by mist.  I think it may be.  The small group in the middle distance are clearer, but to me are not as interesting.  I suppose that I should really have tried to make the water ‘milky’ with a long exposure, but as usual, I didn’t have my tripod to hand.

Fog on the Cobb
A Sea Mist over the Cobb at Lyme Regis, Dorset.

I have to confess that I am a little disappointed with this image.  The mist hasn’t really provided the degree of mystery that I had hoped for.  Maybe it is the distraction of the moored boats the other side of the sea wall spoils it.  With this in mind, I resorted to Photoshop briefly, to see whether their removal would help, though I did experience a great feeling of guilt as a result.  The next image shows my efforts with the clone tool.

Fog on the Cobb 2
A Sea Mist over the Cobb at Lyme Regis, Dorset.

The remaining speck on the wall isn’t a bit that I missed.  It is a seagull that I thought deserved to remain.  Has this cloning helped or is it just plain ‘over manipulation’?

Any alternative suggestions on how this image could have been improved are most welcome, as long as they don’t suggest a tripod. 🙂  It is unlikely that I will ever have it with me. 😕

We found ourselves on the Cobb, in the fog, after a long day hiking the Coastal Path west of Lyme Regis.  It was hot during the hike and it was really quite pleasant to spend a little time cooling down at the end of the day as the mist came in.

Portland in the Mist, an example of an unsuitable image.

I’ve just been looking through some old photos, so watch out for some silly little posts.

A few years ago, before I fully revived my interest in photography, I took this picture with my ‘point and shoot’ camera. It was taken from the cliffs at Ringstead in Dorset and showed Portland partially shrouded with mist. I was quite pleased with it so I sent an email to the Picture Editor at the Western Gazette, our local weekly, asking him whether he thought it suitable as a ‘readers photo’ for inclusion in the paper. You can imagine my pleasure when he said that he liked it a lot and would include it when space permitted.