beach
gallery
click on images to
enlarge
the story behind the photos
beach gallery

  • Where were these photos taken?
A:  These photos were taken at Okaloosa Island,
FL (between Pensacola and
Panama City, in the panhandle.)

I was drawn to this particular beach
because of the dunes and vegetation.
The hurricanes of recent years have
obliterated both on most major Gulf Coast
beaches.  There is a beach restoration
research project going on at Mary Esther,
and it was wonderful to see.  Like the
first green buds on a tree after a long,
bitter winter, these dunes and sea oats
bear the promise of renewal and a
return to brighter days.

  • What did you do to get that look to your photos?
A:  Many people incorrectly assume that I have used
Adobe Photoshop to add 'artistic filters'.  These
are digital enhancements that give a photograph
a particular look, say of a watercolor painting.

While I do use Photoshop, it is a far more
powerful program than most people realize.
For professional photographers, its has become
a 'digital darkroom', allowing them to adjust all
the parameters on a computer that once were
adjusted in a darkroom through chemical baths.

The main adjustments I have made on my
beach photographs are contrast (increasing
the differences between the darks and the
lights in the picture) and saturaion (deepening
the colors already present in a photo--
not
adding colors to it.

For more information on my photography
techniques, see:

about Cindy's work

the making of a photograph
F.A. Q.'s
beach parfait
splash!
daybreak
seascape
solitude
golden moment
prepare for lift off
sea oats
wave runner
sandblaster
carefree