Grassy Sunset
This is actually a sunrise. Looking east on the beach at Saint Augustine.
This is actually a sunrise. Looking east on the beach at Saint Augustine.
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Dec, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I found this setting early one morning facing east as the sun rose on the beach in St. Augustine, Florida.Time
This was taken on a family vacation. Our three daughters were seven, five and barely three at the time. This was one of our first family trips away from the comforts of the girls' own beds and rooms, so of course they all wanted to sleep with mom and dad. They were still little tiny bodies, so it wasn't that big of a deal - until one of them rolled over and clubbed me in the mouth with her little arm and cut my lip. I got up to get a bit of towel to stop the bleeding (it wasn't that much...) and I went and stood by the window to watch the sunrise and press my lip. I saw the beach grass waving in the wind and the sun about to come up and it occurred to me that being on the beach for this moment could be a great sunrise. And...it was. I took this about 6:20 AM, on an early August day, facing east looking over the Atlantic.Lighting
Just ambient lighting. It was calm and quiet. I stood there, got as steady as I could, let my breath and pressed. The shutter took FOREVER, but I held it steady enough for this shot to happen.Equipment
My first love in the camera world was (and still is) a Nikon D-90. I had the standard 18-105 lense on, as the prior day had been all big lense shooting and I wanted to mix things up a bit. No flash, no tripod, other than arm braced against rib cage, no filters.Inspiration
The path to the beach led through tall grass. I could see the stalks silhouetting against the brightening sky as I walked to the water. Pretty quick I forgot the water and started to focus on the grass.Editing
If memory serves, I took this into Photoshop and removed a broken strand of grass from the lower portion of the photo. Usually I brighten and fiddle with things a fair amount, but this one I like as it was other than removing what I judged to be a distracting broken stalk of grass. Business photography has really taught me about defining a subject and making sure that the subject is easily understood quickly by viewers with a typically short attention span. While I like keeping things off-center or off balance, I still want the main topic quickly located and consumed.In my camera bag
A 'light enough to carry' tripod, a remote trigger, a 70-300 lense and the 18-105 default lense. Mainly though, I hunt. For me the great joy is the challenge of spotting something really cool in the midst of an 'everyday' surround. With topic in eye, then I challenge myself to find the angle, the light, and the bkgrd to make something I like. Bokeh is a big deal for me, so foreground, background and my own closeness to the subject all get fussed over as I hunt for the bokeh look that I like when I see it.Feedback
Borders and transitions are spaces I am keenly aware of. Outdoors, as in life, this space is where much happens. That and I keep the sun behind me (except for this shot I guess) and minimize head space, 'cause I can only keep about three things in my head at once when I am chasing what I think is THE SHOT.
