Storm Drain II
This is a follow-up to my Storm Drain post from February which is one of my most liked photographs, probably for its drama. This image was taken at the same time, but with a much longer exposure which smooths out the drama. This is the storm drain structure on the beach in Ross Bay, Victoria that I was featuring in my blog for some time, a sort of informal series of images.
I still can’t really explain why I did a series on this feature, nor why it has stalled lately, but it did generate some good shots.
You can find the other storm drain pictures through this link. Ross Bay Zigzag is from a similar vantage point as this image, but on a quiet day.
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Canon EOS 5Dmkii, Canon 50/1.4 lense, ISO100: f-14, 30 seconds, Cameron Fader ND filter at about 5 or 6 f-stops of density.
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burnt embers 
the more I browse through this series, the more incredible images I find… have you toned this image additionally in the blue color? or this is the blue hour? it looks incredible, dramatic and mysterious… very cold overall, due to the blue tones, yet warmed up by the lights in the distance… quite a story telling here…
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Hi – thanks for browsing! No toning in this shot that I remember. It was winter and late in the day, but not so late that the street lights had come on. Things can get very blue even with a thick and low cloud, or perhaps especially in those circumstances. It is possible the ND filter and/or long exposure enhanced the blue.
And it was quite cold, with the wind and low temperatures (for around here). The lights are either from cars on the point, or a ship otherwise hidden on the other side of the point.
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I love the dreaminess of this. – L
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The dreaminess is of course a lie – the wind was howling and it was cold out and the only dreams I had while taking these pictures was that I would be home in front of the fire soon. 🙂
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What a feel to the image, great capture!
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Hey thanks David! I really like the nearly dark colour that is somehow saturated with the long exposure, but still nearly monochrome.
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This most certainly has that extra ‘something’. Partly it’s the tonal range which I love, but the long exposure has smoothed out the water creating the feeling that this is an object rising from the deep. The sky is also such a powerful element. it all builds into a picture which could almost be the backdrop to a horror movie. It’s a superb shot.
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Thanks so much Andy – glad you like it. And its cool that you and Ryan are finding all kinds of horrors lurking just beneath this surface. This is only 25m from one corner of the Ross Bay Cemetery.
Still, I feel a bit sorry for the poor maligned Ross Bay storm drain, not really a monster at all, but a firmly fixed and totally passive concrete pipe for overflow storm runoff.
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This qualifies as one of the best (if not the best) of the storm drain series. Your slow shutter technique is exceptional.
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Thanks so much Ken, on all counts. I had better do some more, eh?
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This has a different kind of drama. Beautiful, spooky. I can imagine monsters crawling up for the sea. 😉
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Ha! You and Monsters. I think you could find a monster in the most placid of scenes 🙂 Still, storm drains are pretty darn creepy places – all echo-y, slimy and dark.
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Indeed! I can’t help it; they are always on the mind. I think it’s the mist-like quality of the water. It seems to be oozing from the storm drain. I love it.
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Well, if I worked with young children, I would have Monsters on my mind all the time too 🙂
Your comment goes well with Andy’s one (LensScaper) – you are obviously both getting the same feel from this photo which is great.
Monsters of the deep are some of the most compelling.
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