Backwash
Incoming wave collides with a receding wave. Captured at Anson Bay, Norfolk Island
Incoming wave collides with a receding wave. Captured at Anson Bay, Norfolk Island
Read less
Read less
Apr, 2015Views
1849
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Surf And The Ocean Photo Contest
Winner in Simply Seascapes Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Categories
joycealicesmith
October 20, 2015
Not surprised this is the winner! Congratulations on such a great shot!
jharphoto
October 20, 2015
Thanks everyone for your comments. When I look back through my image library of over 100,000 photos, this one is right up there in my top 5 best ever images.
Ultimate
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
Anson Bay, Norfolk IslandTime
Around 5pmLighting
Taken early November when the setting sun was low enough and in just the right place for the light to come through the waves.Equipment
Canon 550D, Tamron 28-300 A20E, hand held, no flash, CPL filter.Inspiration
I was shooting Pulpit Rock at the southern end of Anson Bay when I noticed that there were some big waves crashing onto the rocks in the northern corner of the Bay. In particular, I noticed that the wave sets were gradually building up until the waves got so big the incoming waves were crashing into the previous receding wave, creating a backwash that stood up. I shot a lot of waves until I captured this one.Editing
Yes. I used Camera Raw for initial adjustment of highlights, shadows, white, blacks, clarity and white balance. In PS CS6, I cropped for composition (tidy up the composition and straighten the horizon - my pet hate in landscape photos!), the did a minor levels adjustment layer in each colour channel to correct a slight colour cast. In Nik, I very sparingly applied a Pro Contrast filter (Dynamic Contrast preset dialled right back because I find that in Nik, less is very definitely more!) Back in PS, on a new layer, I used the Sponge tool to bring out the colour, and the dodge and burn tools to bring out the highlights and and shadow tones and on the wave face. Finally, I sharpened with an Unsharp Mask, because all digital photos need sharpening.In my camera bag
I now have a Canon 70D body. Lenses: Canon 18-135mm STM (my walk around lens), Tamron 28-300 A20E, Canon 10-18 STM. Set of 3 Kenko Extension Tubes, a B+W 10-stop ND filter, Cokin ND filters (ND8 solid and ND2, 4 and 8 Grads), Hoya CPL, remote shutter release, travel tripod/monopod, Aquatech rain cover, Trek-King camera harness (love this - no sore neck from standard camera strap), 2 spare batteries, LensPro lens and filter cleaning kit, Giotto blower, and a collection of cleaning cloths.Feedback
1. Use continuous shooting (burst) mode rather than one shot. 2. Spend some time watching the wave sets so you can gain an understanding of how they roll in. There is a pattern - usually between 6 and 8 waves to a set - so watch the water beyond the line of breakers as the big waves will be visible out there. When you've identified a promising set, start shooting from about the 4th or 5th wave in the set. Repeat as required - be warned, though. You will take A LOT of shots to get the one you want. 3. Change the focus to a back button rather than on the shutter and use AI Servo - allows you to focus and track waves without affecting light metering. 4. Shoot in Raw. There is a good chance when shooting into the sun at such a low angle for the highlights to blow out. Turn on the " Blinky highlights" to monitor highlight exposure. If highlights do blow out, provided they are not completely gone over a large area, you can retrieve them in Raw (not possible with jpegs). 5. I use AV mode as I like to control depth of field with aperture selection. If I need to juggle shutter speed, I adjust ISO. Setting for this shot: AV shooting mode, f/11, 1/80 sec, ISO 100, focal length 33mm, manual white balance - Cloudy, evaluative metering.
