Taylor Avenue, Barnegat Bay, Long Beach Island NJ

On Saturday, Cortney, my fiancé, and I began the unofficial start to summer at the Jersey Shore; we were heading to Long Beach Island to spend some time with friends we haven’t seen since November when I photographed their family. We left early to try to beat the traffic we anticipated, however, quickly found there was little to any on the way down. We made it on to the island early, and proceeded to find a place to get a small breakfast and some coffee. As we were driving I began to notice the building of the clouds; I have always been fascinated with clouds, how they form, where they dissipate, what they indicate, etc., so my eye was continually looking around at the rapidly changing cloudscape. We parked in Beach Haven, grabbed my camera gear and made our way over to waters edge to get a better look of the clouds and the bay. The scene was incredibly relaxing, coupled with unbelievably clear water. While the scene was great, I didn’t have the connection I usually do when making a photograph, so we set off for our breakfast. After a great cup of coffee from the Coffee Bouteaque (www.coffeebouteaque.com) and a bit of shopping across the street at Island Gypsy, (this may be Cortney’s new favorite store, we already have to stop there next time we go down) we began making our way back to the car. As we walked, I noticed the clouds that continued to form, seemingly indicating a storm. Back we went to the spot at the end of Taylor Avenue, only this time I got the feeling. What I saw in front of me made a connection in my mind. I spent a few moments looking out at the scene and then selected my lens, added a circular polarizer so I could get a little more saturation in the clouds while also, importantly, cutting the reflection on the water surface so the clear water could be represented. The two sailboats finished out the composition for me. Both were making their way under engine power, and while there are many reasons why they may have chosen this, to me, the image created a contradiction in that the clouds were indicating a storm, and likely wind, while the sailboats, with their sails gathered, indicated peaceful calm. I waited until the sailboats got to the point in the frame that bookended the bright reflection in the water and made the exposure. You can see the full size image of this on my website www.colinseitzphotography.com. Hope everyone has a good week! Colin