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Alannixon
UMDLOTI BEACH, KZN, South Africa
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UMDLOTI BEACH, KZN, South Africa



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III

settings Aperture f/13.0 ISO 100 Shutter 1/2 

upload_dateNov, 2014

Views

7840

Likes

Awards

Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Water World Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Inspiring Shots Photo Contest
Runner Up in Amazing Oceans Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Amazing Oceans Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 15
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Superb Composition
sarahtasha ClaritaBethCanlasMiller Thecamist maltese irinaizmaylova_7276 rebehathaway sharronleppien +407
Absolute Masterpiece
hebertdesouza blakefegler arindamrajkhowa michaellawson_4352 jennifernmichaelfonville lciajordo valerieybarra +374
Outstanding Creativity
CameronSambridge kristenlewis Ryanforino rohanrai martiebloem timothygideonhamman scottburgan +226
Top Choice
paulmurray_6396 charlielaskey ajita91 clairehughes_5120 scorregina kimhoffmann KyleWeller15 +221
Peer Award
billmartin_2615 davidjprosser IonNedelcu ileanaandreagmezgavinoser NancyFlemingPhotography romanb_6926 JuanGiraldo +151
Superior Skill
ManeFrame my3girls PeterEvans23 jacobowelldone claudiorussa lauraprieto edwardquinlanfleet +108
Magnificent Capture
BTay01 Macpwm Candace Schopen johnroden tigercat Gayle_Solis shaundasmithroberts +41
All Star
MEL1 daydreamsbymary0710 Emmapaull woodsliv Samborough Roach1969 carolinecari +31
Genius
AntipodesNZ Ruslan_RC ericakinsella SVPhotos digger12 barbaramillesrobinson LilC +2
Virtuoso
tredyh Ryanbrookskiwi hiyahercfarm
Love it
SimonArron

Emotions

Impressed
silviamarcos tredyh tigercat NewZealander2020 FergalBrady sandeepnarvekar DawnGrayPhotography
Happy
my3girls

Top Ranks

Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Around The World Photo Contest Digital Camera WorldTop 10 rank
All About Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Ocean Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Ocean Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
The Ocean Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Show The Beach Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Show The Beach Photo ContestTop 10 rank month 1
Show The Beach Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
Show The Beach Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Show The Beach Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Around the World Photo Contest By DiscoveryTop 10 rank
Around the World Photo Contest By DiscoveryTop 10 rank week 1
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank week 3
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank week 2
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank week 1
Water World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Water World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Fascinating Landscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Fascinating Landscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Fascinating Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Amazing Oceans Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Amazing Oceans Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Amazing Oceans Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
ViewBug HQ Photo ContestTop 20 rank
ViewBug HQ Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Coastal Landscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank
ViewBugs Best Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
ViewBugs Best Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
ViewBugs Best Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Covers Photo Contest Vol 15Top 10 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 15Top 10 rank week 3
Covers Photo Contest Vol 15Top 10 rank week 2
Tripod Required Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 15Top 10 rank week 1
Tripod Required Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Tripod Required Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1

Categories

53 Comments |
rmr731 Platinum
 
rmr731 December 17, 2014
Wow! This is amazing! Awesome work! congrats on being a finalist!
tinekeziemer
 
tinekeziemer December 18, 2014
wow completely spectacular!
Inspire4More
 
Inspire4More January 05, 2015
OMG Fantastic!!!
Fauxtographer
 
Fauxtographer January 05, 2015
Stunning!
chuckrickman
 
chuckrickman January 06, 2015
An amazing capture. Congrats on being featured.
stamatispappas
 
stamatispappas January 06, 2015
This is an excellent photo!
iceman2
 
iceman2 January 06, 2015
Excellent time exposure capture.Congrats!
akhtarkhan
 
akhtarkhan January 06, 2015
Excellent capture. Congrats on the feature.
rexnet
 
rexnet January 06, 2015
Impressive, perfection! love it
nitti
 
nitti January 06, 2015
Perfect! Congrats
becmostyn
 
becmostyn January 06, 2015
Amazing!! Love it..
RhondaMcD
 
RhondaMcD January 06, 2015
Lovely, lovely image. Very soft and appealing on the eyes. Congratulations
thomaszakowski
 
thomaszakowski January 06, 2015
awesome capture, congrats
rajeshyadav
 
rajeshyadav January 06, 2015
very nice
AlanJakarta
 
AlanJakarta January 06, 2015
Terrific shot. Congratulations on being Featured.
gustisarojo
 
gustisarojo January 07, 2015
Amazing, perfect spot!
bronfebey
 
bronfebey January 09, 2015
Wow.. Very eye catching, great shot 😃
struza
 
struza January 11, 2015
Would love to do a photo manip with this shot..its fantastic!!
PlusTwoPhotography
 
PlusTwoPhotography January 12, 2015
This is insanely awesome! Goeie werk!!!!
VictorySong
 
VictorySong January 16, 2015
Love it!
dayton344
 
dayton344 January 18, 2015
This type of shot is what inspires me to go out there and put in the effort. Well done....awarded, liked, and favorited.
flyingduk
 
flyingduk January 19, 2015
Hi Alan what I love about your work is that I never seem to see the Umdloti and Umhlanga beach front the way you do !! You have a great eye!! This shot is awesome -gereat light and compo ,lovely and sharp. WEll done.
KarlWilliamsPhotography
 
KarlWilliamsPhotography January 31, 2015
This is really special, Alan - no need to say why: it's obvious.
BrianBasson PRO+
 
BrianBasson January 31, 2015
Alan, Congratulations with the award with this superb shot. Brian
Donna28
 
Donna28 February 05, 2015
Stunning fantastic skill .. This is my aim to be this good ... Love it
SuzyH
 
SuzyH February 07, 2015
Unbelievably beautiful! :)
marcusabberleygallery
 
marcusabberleygallery February 20, 2015
Gotta love the drama
charlespfohl
 
charlespfohl February 25, 2015
Awesome capture
IsabellaD Premium
 
IsabellaD March 05, 2015
Breathtaking capture, amazing long exposure, well deserved awards !!
judyhorton
 
judyhorton March 06, 2015
Incredible long exposure...love the lines of motion of the water!
DebbieKMiller81 Platinum
 
DebbieKMiller81 March 13, 2015
Beautiful shot. Great shutter speed choice and nicely composed.
ShutterBug76
 
ShutterBug76 March 19, 2015
Very Well done!
jasontomlinson
 
jasontomlinson March 22, 2015
That is a beautiful shot
onyanita PRO+
 
onyanita March 30, 2015
stunning!
Ayersphotography PRO
 
Ayersphotography May 04, 2015
Absolutely Awesome!!!
DSouza
 
DSouza May 05, 2015
Masterpiece
HappyTree
 
HappyTree May 23, 2015
Very pretty!
redwriter Platinum
 
redwriter June 09, 2015
Impressive image. Nice work. - Jake
VHiggins
 
VHiggins June 12, 2015
beautiful! congratulations!
nina050
 
nina050 June 15, 2015
This is stunning!! Wow factor from start to finish!! Congrats!
AhmadGFX
 
AhmadGFX June 20, 2015
Amazing
adriansart Platinum
 
adriansart July 07, 2015
Superbly taken this shows understanding of what long exposures are all about!
AliAlzuhair
 
AliAlzuhair July 08, 2015
Impressive!
ShutterBug76
 
ShutterBug76 July 08, 2015
outstanding shot
rdawson
 
rdawson August 20, 2015
Composition excellent - buildings on left (although a tad too dark) balance nicely with rocks mid-picture, as do waves with sky, and darkness on left with brightness of breaking waves!
juliantej
 
juliantej August 25, 2015
Dude you're awesome for this!
knightog
 
knightog August 27, 2015
Wonderful! Great job.
DAPhotography
 
DAPhotography August 31, 2015
Fantastic. Well deserve award!
DavyQuo
 
DavyQuo September 08, 2015
great shot ... nice edit ... congrats on feature
LeeStan
 
LeeStan February 02, 2016
Stunning pic
Tanda4bama PRO+
 
Tanda4bama August 23, 2016
viewbug.com/challenge/beautiful-beach-sceneryno-people-photo-challenge-by-tanda4bama
cavazbe PRO
 
cavazbe February 19, 2020
Perfection!
FergalBrady
 
FergalBrady March 23, 2020
Super seascape well done

Submitted to Photo Contests
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Behind The Lens

Location

One of my favorite beaches on the East coast of South Africa is at Umdloti, near Durban.

Time

Being a keen land and seascape photographer I'm always out early, this was taken at 5:15 am just before sunrise.

Lighting

The magic hour is called exactly that for good reason. As a sea/landscape photographer there is no better light than half an hour before and half an hour after sunrise/sunset. The early bird catches the light!

Equipment

My trusted Canon 5D mkIII, Canon EF16-35mm, Manfrotto Tri-pod, cable release, circular polarizing filter, sturdy legs and a swimming costume!

Inspiration

On one of my favorite beaches, so I'm always swinging by to check it out. Low tide is the best time with a beautiful set of rocks that form natural lead in lines. The backwash was particularly strong that day which is why I focused on the receding water which created a beautiful texture to the water combined with the light.

Editing

Shooting in RAW is a must to be able to get the right white balance in post editing and I find Lightroom the best software to pull out the right colors and textures and replicate exactly what I saw that morning, as you know a Raw file is pretty dull to start out with. I use contrast and clarity sliders which brings out the textures and use the white balance sliders to get the right color of the light to the photo. The right color of light is the key to replicate exactly what you experienced on the shoot. I also finish off in Photoshop which has a couple of preset plugins as well.

In my camera bag

I role with Canon 5D mkIII, back up body, couple of lenses, depending what location I'm on. For outdoor land/seascape I have my Canon 16-35mm 2.8. I also take the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 plus 2x converter for a closer crop on either the wave action or people or what ever else I encounter on the beach. Canon 50mm 1.8 as a versatile lightweight lens. Polarizing filters for all lenses. ND filters for the wide angle lens. cable release. Headlamp, 2 spare batteries. 565 Speedlight.

Feedback

Do a recce of the area before the shoot is key. Have a look at the spot at High and low tide to see the difference. Low tide more rocks, high tide more waves? get there at least 20 min before the right (therefore the headlamp) light to set up. The sea is never the same so plan for a change of plan. Nothing worse than still fussing with a set up while the light is perfect. Do a camera preset and check the night before. I know I'm going to use 100 ISO, manual focus and I always start at f11 and looking for a shutter speed of 1/4 - 1/3 of a sec. that just helps you with less things to do on the morning. Then shoot on continuous shooting mode as that will make sure you get the right timing of the wave.

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