Below Deck. . .Charles W. Morgan

[gahspidy]

I took a trip to the seaport sunday( Mystic seaport) and had it in mind to get back to some more work on the series (view from within)
This was taken below the deck of the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship built in 1841.
Your thoughts. . .

[Seb]

I took a trip to the seaport sunday( Mystic seaport) and had it in mind to get back to some more work on the series (view from within)
This was taken below the deck of the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship built in 1841.
Your thoughts. . .

Gary, this is a solid shot and when I say this, I mean it. The light is beautiful. I like how it fells on the stair and the little ray that hit the floor adds a lot. The textures are superb too. I feel the warmth of the wood despite the b&w nature of the picture. The crates at the right make the scene even moodier. My only concern is about the lighting at the top of the stairs. It seems a little strong I think. It helps to draw my attention on the top of the frame once I am done with the foreground but I don't think that it have to be that strong. Perhaps, a slight burning of this very area would help.

regards

Seb

[jar_e]

Great shot. I think Seb hit all the points I was going to mention. The old boxes, are a huge plus, the texture is also beautiful, and in black and white it just makes things amazing. Just the one hot spot above the stairs, and that's my only critique.

Great shooting,

Jared

[Paul.S.]

Beautifull shot that delivers a great sense of character of an old sailing ship. The hot spot mentioned actualy works for me in the sense of stumbling from the darkness into the bright light with the eyes not being able to adjust. Definitly a shot worth printing and framing on a wall...

cheers.
P.

[justpaul]

The shot is great. It is has a classic feel and fine tones.
Much better than my memory of this vessel. If I am not mistaken there is a lower deck beneath your capture that served as sleeping quarters. I had a case of vertigo and barely made it back up those steps. Anyway after seeing your pic I may give it another try.

[gahspidy]

Seb, Jared, Paul, and JustPaul. . . .thanks for looking. This is a slightly different variation on the theme "view from within" as this does not have much a a view of the outside, but is primarily about the inside. There is another shot from the day that is also along this line, but is from an attic in a lobster shack in the village. seaport.
Yes, JustPaul, there is another deck below this one, but it is basically the hull of the ship. The bunks and quarters are on this level.

[gahspidy]

Beautifull shot that delivers a great sense of character of an old sailing ship. The hot spot mentioned actualy works for me in the sense of stumbling from the darkness into the bright light with the eyes not being able to adjust. Definitly a shot worth printing and framing on a wall...

cheers.
P.

Glad to know your thoughts on the bright area that is th outside deck. I had already toned it down some and added a bit of blur to the outside as it was the effect I was hoping to achieve.

[Chunk]

I like how much light you have captured here. Was it quite a long exposure? While I like the shot a lot, I think this is more of an 'inside looking further inside' shot as my eye wants to follow the fading light into the shadows and see what's hidden there. Nice work.

I was stationed for a few years just down the road in Groton and the Seaport was a favorite spot to take visitors. I need to get a camera into the little town of Mystic and get some shots of those stacks of lobster pots along the wharves and some of those beautiful old homes.

[chrisrobbins]

Gary,

Another great shot! I actually like the brightness of the light coming from the top. To me, it gives a welcoming or comforting feel. I love the B&W and the sharpness of the image is impressive.

Chris

[Ryguyinlj]

That is just beautiful. I need not say more. But I will... I like the overexposed top of the staricase, the gradient of light that it creates down the steps, the perfect contrast, and how it mimicks older photographs.

[LeeIs]

Nice shot. Everything I wanted to say was said above. The only thing is the light bulb in the far dark area to the right, I don't really know what to think of it. I brought the photo in to photoshop and took it out & I thought it improved it a bit but the change wasn't major at all. Have you tried that and what did you think of it?

[gahspidy]

Chunk. . . Yes this is a different type of "view from within" but I feel it still fits the series. Great to know how familiar you are with this place. This is my third time here, and it is never redundant. I actually had been sneaking into areas that were closed off and will post another view from within from the attic of one of the lobster shacks. I also have a couple pics of the old houses you mentioned. This was shot with my 19-35mm at 19-20mm at 3.5. Tripod and shutter was about 1-2 sec. The most difficult thing i find with these shots is trying to focus in the dark with a wide angle lens. . .sometimes i resort to just measuring the distance to the area I want in focus and then set the lens for that distance. Hope you get a chance to get back there. Stationed in Groton. . .were you in a submarine division?

Chris . . .thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, very glad to know you find the light at the top effective to the mood of the pic.

Ryguyinlj . . . .Thanks for your time to comment. your positive feedback is very helpful and encouraging . . .

Liban . . .I appreciate your ideas. I like the added depth it brings, but think it would look fine as well with it gone. But in a case like this where it works with or without, I rather leave it true.
thanks for your time

[mtbbrian]

I like this one a lot Gary.
Technically it is spot on, so is the composition.
It has all the right blacks and whites, and there is just the right amount of detail in every element.
I like how you framed the stairs, my eye looks down them, to the left catching the boxes and back up again. Which I think works well.
If this is apart of your "View From Within" series, I'd say continue on!
Brian

[Chunk]

Hope you get a chance to get back there. Stationed in Groton. . .were you in a submarine division?

Thanks. I'll be getting there - just not sure when yet. I'm retiring in May and hope to ride around some seeing some of the country. Since I have to get the house in shape to sell, I haven't made any firm plans yet. When I head your way I'll give you a shout because your hand is one I'd like to shake. We could head up the post road and kick the cans or something.
I was in the commissioning crew of the 685 boat - the Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN 685) in the early 70s. We were on her during the later phases of construction at the the Groton shipyard and then took her through some testing there and out of the Sub base in Groton.

[Lava Lamp]

I took a trip to the seaport sunday( Mystic seaport) and had it in mind to get back to some more work on the series (view from within)
This was taken below the deck of the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship built in 1841.
Your thoughts. . .

Just a terrific shot. The light from above and the boxes really make the picture. The tones are great. I've taken some pictures of WWII warships in Fall River, but never gotten any this good.

[another view]

Couple of things jumped out at me - which have already been mentioned:

I like the contrast, it's maybe a little much but old film had more of this look and it works with the 150+ year old subject. Same with the little bit of flare, it works very well here - old lenses weren't coated so were more prone to flare. I also like the rigging that you can see through the doorway rather than just having an open white space.

Below decks on a ship like this would be dark, a huge contrast (of a different type) than the outside world. And, the boxes make the shot.

Well done!

[chandlerjr]

I took a trip to the seaport sunday( Mystic seaport) and had it in mind to get back to some more work on the series (view from within)
This was taken below the deck of the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship built in 1841.
Your thoughts. . .

The exposure on this photograph is unbelievably great. From highlights to shadow detail through the mid-values, creates a sense of "being there!" Got to ask: film or digital. It is so good I would swear it was a large format camera, but I know no one uses them anymore (10 years ago, I still had and used an 8 x 10 Field Camera).

Larry C.

[gahspidy]

Chunk, would like the opportunity to meet you ( I've got lots of cans to kick if we don't happen to see any along the walk)

Brian, thanks for your thoughts on it. Much appreciated.

Lavalamp, thanks for your comments, would love to see some of the shots you speak of.

AnotherView, thanks for your in depth analysis. You mention some good points that I had concerns with.

Larry, welcome to the forum. Thanks for your time to comment. I'm shooting film, color negatives mostly 100 iso. Have just finished my first roll of Provia and like it as well. I scan my film and then do any conversions with PS.

[chandlerjr]

Chunk, would like the opportunity to meet you ( I've got lots of cans to kick if we don't happen to see any along the walk)

Brian, thanks for your thoughts on it. Much appreciated.

Lavalamp, thanks for your comments, would love to see some of the shots you speak of.

AnotherView, thanks for your in depth analysis. You mention some good points that I had concerns with.

Larry, welcome to the forum. Thanks for your time to comment. I'm shooting film, color negatives mostly 100 iso. Have just finished my first roll of Provia and like it as well. I scan my film and then do any conversions with PS.

Gary,
Thanks for Welcoming me to the forum. I also am still using film although I am getting ready to buy a DSLR. My scanner is a Konic/Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV. It is 3200 Pixels (about 52 Meg file at full scan). Dynamic range is 4.2 which really helps pull in the shadows in transparency and B/W Film. What scanner do you use?

I really like Provia. My favorite slide film for really fine grain photos is Velvia, but it will soon be gone. I got a freezer full of the Velvia so I should be set for a while. I like the dynamic range of Provia. If you shot any shadows, I think you will like what you see. I also like Ektachrome for a good all purpose film especially outdoors. I took Ektachrome and Velvia with me to New Mexico about 18 months ago, and Ektachrome really handled the landscapes well.

Take care--would really like to hear about your scanner and whether you will be moving to a Digital camera.
Larry C.