Dark Horizon
Just casually sat in the sea for an 8 minute exposure in the middle of the night #photographerslife
Just casually sat in the sea for an 8 minute exposure in the middle of the night #photographerslife
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Apr, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in the popular, North West England, coastal resort of Southport. I am often drawn to the water when planning a shoot as it can help convey so much; tranquility, peace, uncertainty, ferocity, vastness, motion, and so much more.Time
I was hoping to catch the last glimpse of a Spring sunset. I arrived at the coast in time, but by the time I had carried my props and equipment to the shoreline any essence of light had completely disappeared. The sea was voraciously brushing against the sand as I approached, it was my only indication I had arrived. By this point I could literally see no more than two feet ahead of me. I had been carrying all my gear, along with a not so light wooden chair, for a good half hour by now. The tide was starting to come in and a thousand an overwhelming amount of fear began to pass through me with each wave that washed past my feet, then ankles. Many attempts were made to get this image, but I couldn't spend too long in one place as Southport has a practically flat beach, and as soon as the tide rises, it covers a larger area than I am able to clear before my camera and tripod is submerged, along with myself. By midnight , I had the image I was happy to use. I had to use paces, knee - high in a black sea, in order to gauge my distance and angle from the camera and get the composition right.Lighting
Since I was working in clouded starlight, I had to just open up my shutter and sit extremely still whilst thoughts of large waves, a fast - rising tide, and stories of quicksand raced through my mind. There was a slight effervescence reflecting off the waves from the distant pier, camera right, which helped illuminate me and separate me from the darkness of the sky and water, as well as providing the reflection beneath me. As soon as the distant shutter would would click closed, I was up, chair under my arm, wading in the general direction of my mounted camera, ready set up again a few feet ahead of the tide. I considered using a speedlight, but knew that the light would freeze the waves around me and not fit with the rest of the image, so I opted against it. Plus the distance it would have had to have been to be out of frame would have proven very difficult to orchestrate.Equipment
I used a 5d Mark ii with the kit 24-105mm lens, a Calumet 7300 tripod (nice and Sturdy, and very reliable), and a shutter release cable, to achieve the very long exposure times necessary. My props consisted of the chair, lodged into the sand at a disproportionate angle (to imply a disheveled subject), long boots ( hidden behind afront the chair), and a change of clothes, which got wet as the tide came beat me to them as I had left them on the beach.Inspiration
I was studying photography at the time and wanted to take a series of self portraits portraying where I felt I was at the time; an early 30's student, coming to grasps with what I felt to be a transitional period between youth and the realisation of getting older. This particular image focuses on the emptiness and uncertainty I was feeling, as I look out to an unknown future.Editing
Though this is extremely close to another image I took that night, it is actually a composite of two images. In the other image I had my hood up, but you could see shells at the bottom of the frame in the image where my hood was down (the one u preferred), so I masked myself into the shell-less picture with my hood down. I also tweaked the lighting levels and contrast in Adobe Lightroom, and cleaned it all up in Photo shop.In my camera bag
I carry a Canon 5d Mark ii, Canon 50mm 1.8, 24-105mm 4, Sigma 70-200mm 2.8, an intervalometer (which also acts as my shutter release), Calumet 7500 tripod, 2x Yongnuo speedlights, Hama and SanDisk CF cards, and a 10 stop neutral density filter.Feedback
Be safe above all else. There were times i was scared, but I know the area and kept a close eye on the weather and tidal times and I kept people up to date on where I was. If you can implement flash into the picture, that would be ideal, otherwise you're going to get cold, very wet, and enend up feeling like a human statue. But you will have a lot of time to get lost in your thoughts.
