Matthew_Jon
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was walking to a beachfront bar on Galé Beach in the Algarve, Portugal, with my Father and decided to take a detour into the water as the sun was dipping towards the horizon. I was sat on my knees with the camera hovering precariously close to the water. I didn't have any waterproof housing so had to whip the camera out of the way as soon as I hit the shutter release. It got a bit wet but survived, thankfully. I forgot I had my electronic cigarette in my pocket though, that never worked again.Time
Just before sunset... and beers.Lighting
I've never seen the sun set so fast, you could literally watch it moving. There was a lovely golden quality in the air, I guess that's why they call it golden hour..Equipment
Canon 70D with a Canon 17-55mm f2.8, handheld, on my knees in the water, with a flooded e-cigarette swimming in my pocket.Inspiration
I'd recently taken some high speed shots with fire and thought it would be cool to do the same with the waves on the shore. There wasn't much of a thought process with this one, I just knew what I wanted when I looked out from the beach.Editing
I used Lightroom to bring out the natural colours of the scene and also brushed in some slight highlights to certain parts of the waves with the corrections brush.In my camera bag
I always have my canon 17-55 f2.8 with me; the optics are great and I find it to be really versatile for most of the situations I find myself in. Along with that my 70D body, canon 100mm f2.8 macro and more batteries than I need. I find this as the best balance of travelling light while also having enough versatility to grab a particular shot as they appear. The 17-55 covers me for most opportunities but then if I'm ever like, "dragonfly!" I'm covered with my macro, which also doubles as a short telephoto.Feedback
I started to capture more interesting shots the more I took my camera out with me. No matter where I'm going I always have it at hand now, you never know when you might want it. I'm very much an opportunistic photographer so it's really important to have it with me for all of the opportunities! I also got myself a cool messenger style camera bag so my gear just becomes a part of my outfit, rather than having to "look like a photographer" everywhere I go. In terms of this specific photo I was quite lucky as the quality of the light was fantastic, the waves were just the right size and the sun was in just the right place. I was at 1000th/sec with the aperture closed down to f7.1 to allow enough dof. Unless you have waterproof housing (which I'd advise so strongly if trying to get a shot like this!!) you'll have to be very careful not to soak your camera, that wave will carry on coming! Get low to the surface of the water and be ready to move!