karenlarsen

Reflections

Early morning light on the changing huts - St James beach, Cape Town

Early morning light on the changing huts - St James beach, Cape Town
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Nov, 2015

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349

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+37

Awards

Staff Winter Selection 2015

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Peer Award

Outstanding Creativity

Absolute Masterpiece

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This is a capture of the Victorian bathing huts near the tidal pools in St James - a tiny, trendy suburb along Cape Town's False Bay coastline.

Time

It was early morning - although a little later than I had originally hoped. We had driven over historic Boyes Drive and after battling to find parking and in the time it took to get to the beach, the sun was a bit higher in the sky than I had hoped.

Lighting

Because the sun was already climbing, the sky seems a little blown out - especially as there are no clouds - but not enough to want me to alter that in post processing. If we had got there 30 minutes earlier the sunrise behind me would have had lovely soft, golden light dancing over everything

Equipment

This was a hand-held shot using my old Canon 550D. I'd left my tripod in the car in my haste to get down on the beach. What you don't know is that I was almost knee deep in water in a tidal pool to get the perfect composition of the reflection among the rocks.

Inspiration

It was one of those classic early summer mornings that Cape Town is famous for. The tide was out and there wasn't a breath of wind, allowing the pool to be completely flat and reflect the huts in an almost mirror image. It was captivating trying to get the perfect shot.

Editing

I did very little actually. I didn't have Lightroom back then and merely adjusted the exposure down a little so the sky didn't look blown out.

In my camera bag

For landscape photography I normally carry my new Canon 80D with 18-135mm lens, my 10-18mm Canon landscape lens and my 550D body as backup spare. I've discovered an ND filter is an absolute godsend in these bright light conditions. My tripod permanently lives in my car boot :-)

Feedback

Get there early in the morning before the sun comes up. Take a flask of coffee with you for cooler mornings and check the tide tables beforehand. Oh, and take a towel - I can almost guarantee you are going to be wading through ponds and tidal pools to get the perfect shot. The earlier you get there, the less chance you have of people walking past the huts and spoiling the shot. Also, the sun rising behind you is sure to add some gorgeous soft, golden light to the scene.

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karenlarsen

karenlarsen

Reflections

Early morning light on the changing huts - St James beach, Cape Town

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow karenlarsen

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