October 6, 2010

Grim and terrible and utterly beautiful

The road.

I just read The Road by Cormack McCarthy in the span of about two days. The book is a post-apocalyptic, linear tale about a man, his son and a world burnt to ash. There was a movie made recently and the DVD awaits my watching. Independent of the film, however, I recommend the book to anyone who has the guts to read it (it is harrowing).

McCarthy’s coast is a stygian waste of ash and sand and cold hell. Ocean beach is no such waste, but this long exposure of the seal rocks and the evening sun has all the mood to remind me of the final chapters of The Road. The gray sea, its churn all but ash, threatens to crush what hopes drove the two to its shores.

I myself am on the road, though I hope I travel in more comfort than McCarthy’s.

Grim and terrible and utterly beautiful
Ocean beach long exposure 2

9 comments

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Steve - October 6, 2010 - 6:49 am

Absolutely gorgeous shot. Love it!

John Tammaro - October 6, 2010 - 4:44 pm

Stunning shots

Brian Matiash - October 6, 2010 - 4:48 pm

Loved the book, loved the movie, love your post. Actually, you’re not all that far off from the cinematic depiction of the beach, but I won’t say any more.

Absolutely stunning detail and tonality in these shots. I tip my hat, sir.

Mike Olbinski - October 7, 2010 - 10:20 am

Unbelievable shot..this is a breathtaking work of art.

And I’m a huge fan of the book, read it when it first came out a few years ago, it’s one of my all-time favs now. Movie was just spot on too. Enjoy it!

Hector Garza - October 7, 2010 - 3:29 pm

These two shots are absolutely beautiful.
About The Road, I’m a huge fan of both the book and the movie, and I must tell you that even though I’m latin-american, I was deeply disappointed on Mr. McCarthy not taking the Nobel Prize this year (or last year as he has been the favorite to win it since last year).

Gremlins666 - October 7, 2010 - 3:54 pm

Ohhh these are both lovely photos… but for some reason I am slightly more drawn to the top photo. Maybe it’s the optimist in me… hoping that the sun will peek out :)

Which would you recommend first… read the book or the movie?
Sounds like the book had a bigger impact on you Justin.

Speaking of post apocalyptic settings. I hate to betray my “inner child” but Fallout Vegas is coming out for the xbox in a week or so…..

Mike - October 7, 2010 - 5:06 pm

owsum.

Sharon - October 10, 2010 - 6:01 pm

Utterly beautiful, indeed.

Justin - October 11, 2010 - 9:36 pm

Thanks all – I’m happy you like it! I made the upper photograph by taking a single long exposure and then blending it with a few shorter exposures in a program called Bracketeer and then blending that image and a few single exposures carefully in photoshop. Given the right subject, it is amazing the dynamic range you can achieve with a 14-bit RAW capture and a little patients.

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