Werri Beach sunset
A stunning sunset viewed from the rock platform at Werri Beach, NSW, Australia.
A stunning sunset viewed from the rock platform at Werri Beach, NSW, Australia.
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Dec, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the rock platform overlooking Gerringong's Boat Harbour. Gerringong is a lovely little beach town about 2 hours south of Sydney, Australia. Turns out that just a few months after shooting this, I ended up moving to Gerringong - and I love it!!Time
I won't easily forget when this was taken... it was just on sunset in October. As you can tell the sky over the ocean is a bit moody... it was actually really windy out on the exposed platform, to the point where my camera and tripod nearly blew over a couple of times! But the wind and swell created some really nice movement in the ocean's foreground, turning quite misty with the long exposure. Not to mention the amazing colours in the sky!Lighting
This was just one of these lucky sunsets where the sky coloured up beautifully, and was made a little more intense by the building storm out to sea. Being just on sunset, the light was lovely and soft, and perfect for a longer exposure to smooth out the water.Equipment
I used my trusty Canon 5D MkIII with a 16-35 L f/2.8II lens. I was using my Gitzo Traveller carbon fibre tripod - a heavier tripod would've been ideal with the wind! I also nearly always use a circular polariser for landscape work - I've had the B+W Kaesemann MRC filter on the lens since day 1, and it is still going strong years later.Inspiration
I was visiting the area and staying in a nearby cabin, so naturally I wandered out for a walk to see how the sunset was working. I love rock platforms and the ocean, but because I didn't know the area so well, I was actually facing the wrong direction waiting for the sunset!! I chanced a glance behind and nearly fell over with the colours emerging, luckily I had time to quickly recompose and grab this shot.Editing
This final image was created using a process which I use for most low light sunrise or sunset landscape images. I took 3 exposures approximately 1 stop apart to cover the dynamic range of the scene. I bring them into Lightroom for some initial tweaks, then move them into Photoshop in a layered file. I use masks to blend the exposures together, paying close attention to the mask edges to obtain a realistic look, and tweaking the opacity of the layers to achieve a final look which matches my memory of the scene. I then save this file back into Lightroom for the final processing - tweaking colours, dodging and burning and introducing some selective sharpening. Finally I cropped this one into more of a panoramic aspect best display this image.In my camera bag
For landscapes, I will always start with the setup I used for this shot - 5D MkIII and 16-35 L f/2.8II. Often I'll also have my 70-200 L f/2.8 II in case a different perspective warrants a longer tele lens. If I want to travel light however, I will sometimes opt for my Sony a6000 and Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 lens. An amazing setup which rivals the ability of my Canon!Feedback
Always take as many photos as you can at the time, with at least 3 exposures to blend. Move around, try different compositions, and don't forget to check behind you and see what's happening there too!! And don't be in a hurry to leave - quite often the best light appears just after the sun has gone down. Finally, be familiar with your gear. Being able to quickly adjust settings based on quickly changing lighting and conditions will improve your chance of capturing a keeper.
