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Canon EOS 5D Mark II

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Aperture f/11.0 ISO 100 Shutter 15/1

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Nov, 2014

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

Took a trip to Happisburgh on Friday morning, to be mostly met with drizzle, but managed to get a few shots of the lighthouse

© 2014 Lee Acaster.

Behind The Lens

Location

This shot was taken at one of my favourite location, Happisburgh on the north Norfolk coast in England. The coastline here is eroding quickly so it seems to have changed with every visit, and there are the remains of lots of failed coastal defendes

Time

The shot was taken just before dawn, which is my favourite time of day for shooting, I have to drive for about an hour and a half to reach this location, so in summer this usually means setting the alarm for some ridiculous hour. At this time of year the sunrise here is around 7.30am so its a bit more civilised!

Lighting

I love the blue tones you get in just before sunrise, and you are less reliant on a spectacular sky. Overcast days like this lend themselves really well to seascapes, and I like the way the sea and sky almost merge into one

Equipment

My usual kit consists of a Canon 5Dmkii, and another one which I had converted for shooting infrared. I use a Zeiss 18mm Distagon for wide shots like this one, and have a Canon 100mm f/2.8L for longer shots. I usually leave the 400mm in the car to save my back from too much upset. I user a sturdy Velbon tripod, which is essential for windy coastal weather and shooting in low light. I used a Lee .9ND hard graduated filter to balance the exposure in the sky, and a Lee circular polariser to control the reflections

Inspiration

I really like the old wooden sea defences which are further back, and obviously failed at holding back the sea and then the second layer of rocks as a more brutal attempt to stop the erosion. They backwash as the waves hit the rocks add another

Editing

I always shoot in Raw and process in Lightroom, I would usually correct the white balance more but the blue green tones in this shot reflect the scene as I remember it so I left them on this occasion. I pulled back some of the shadows to show the detail in the rocks, and then took the image into Nik output sharpener to sharpen it and add a little bit of clarity to the white water areas.

In my camera bag

My usual kit consists of a Canon 5Dmkii, and another one which I had converted for shooting infrared. I use a Zeiss 18mm Distagon for wide shots like this one, and have a Canon 100mm f/2.8L for longer shots. I also have a Canon 400mm f/5.6L, but usually leave this in the car to save my back from too much upset. I use a sturdy Velbon tripod, which is essential for windy coastal weather, and a Lee filter kit. For this shot

Feedback

Although it never seems very appealing when the alarm goes off at 4 or 5am, getting to your location half an hour before sunrise always seems worth it once you arrive. The quality of light at that time of day rarely disappoints, and can transform the most mundane seeming location into a photographers dream. Even if you don't take a shot, there is still something pretty special about that time of day, and you will rarely regret it. It always pays to plan in advance as the light changes rapidly as the sun comes up. Plan where you are going the night before, get you're kit ready in advance, take a torch and be aware of you're surroundings as you arrive, especially near cliffs, hills or water, and then try and find a good composition before nature does its magic with the light.

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Jellyfire

Jellyfire

Simmering

Simmering

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Jellyfire

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