I created this water blur while sitting on the Barnegat Jetty. The water looked so peaceful with just a little movement to it for interest. As you can see by my settings it was fairly bright out. When I first saw the blur I thought it looked nice but was a little plain. I experimented with it and found that it makes an excellent texture overlay. It adds soft delicate flowing lines to the background so I thought I would share my findings.
1.3 sec. at f/45, ISO 50
I like water blurs on their own merit, but -- even though I've photographed numerous other things specifically to use as textures sometime in the future -- I've never thought of water blurs as textures. It's a great idea. Thank you.
Unlike water blurs with strong reflections, this one feels very soothing. Given the cool color, that surprises me a bit, but it's probably because of associations with the warmth of the sun and the gentle sounds of the moving water.
I also have used water blurs (along with leaf blurs, tree blurs, etc.) as "textures or underlays - they really seem to add a much more natural esthetic to the final image than the ones that are manufactured in PS. I can see where this one is going to really work well - nice blur evenly distributed and a nice gradation of the blue hues will lend itself perfectly for this purpose!
Denise, your blurs have really inspired me. I'm a big fan. This one is very soothing, and a beautiful color. I can see how it would make a great texture, but as a stand-alone image, it doesn't have the kind of interest I've seen in most of your other blurs. Just a little too plain for my taste, I suppose.
Denise, this is very lovely. As mentioned, it is quite peaceful and soothing. Look forward to seeing your images where you use this as a texture overlay. I haven't been down to Lake Ontario yet this season to see what ducks have arrived, but since you have the LT Ducks I would think we do too. Will have to check it out. No sign of winter yet...today is suppose to be quite warm again.
Barnegat Inlet Water Blur
