Heavy Roller
The Cornish coastline, always reliable for some big waves.
The Cornish coastline, always reliable for some big waves.
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Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I've been lucky enough to travel to many countries throughout the world, but there really is no place like home. This photo was taken in in the far west of England - Cornwall. This place is a real hidden gem not accessible by road about an hours walk from Lands End and each time I've visited there's barely been any other people at all. The cove (not seen in this image) is surrounded by dramatic granite rock cliffs and a waterfall that slopes down through the valley onto the the beach. There is also a hole in the cliff which has been eroded by the waves over time and the whole scene really is quite spectacular. Since my first visit four years ago, the landscape has changed due to a big storm off the atlantic which pushed hundreds of big boulders up onto the beach which was nearly all sand at one point, I guess this is just nature changing and reshaping the landscape. I'd really like to visit this location a lot more but it's still a six hour drive from my hometown - London. There is a photograph in my profile which shows a wider scene of the cove titled "Rock Show".Time
The location of this photo in the far west of the country meant the best time for lighting would be around dusk, this image was taken as the sun was beginning to start setting.Lighting
When taking images of water I tend to wait until the sunlight gets really low - normally just off the horizon line. This is because if the sun stays unbroken by cloud it will break through the water and produce some really nice lighting. This was exactly the case on this photo and it really helped bring out the colours of the waves which were a bright cyan colour on this particular day.Equipment
For this image I used a tele-photo lens to get close to the action and this also provided me with some safety, the last thing you want is to be swept out to sea. The waves were powerful and producing some big surf I reckon 10ft -14ft. The lens I used was the Nikon 70-200mm VRII mounted onto a Nikon D800, I also used a tripod and a filter to slow the shutter speed down slightly to give the wave a bit more of the look I wanted.Inspiration
When hiking down to the cove I was going to take landscape shots of the granite cliffs and surrounding area, but when I saw the huge surf coming in off the Atlantic I really wanted to concentrate on that and capturing a nice exposure of the wave motion. I love photographing water and mainly what I concentrate on.Editing
The image needed a little work due to the filter being attached, so it was edited in Camera Raw - and then opened up into Photoshop for some dodging and burning to make the most of the shadows and highlights to bring the colours out.In my camera bag
My camera equipment has remained the same for the last few years, it includes Nikon D800, Nikon D700 (back up) The Nikon 70-200mm VRII and the Nikon 14-24mm VR. What I always make sure is packed is cleaning cloths, a torch, and spare batteries.Feedback
When photographing landscapes or seascapes, it can often work to your advantage to concentrate on just one area and fill the frame will plenty of interest rather than trying to capture the whole scene. Always remember photography is art and there are no boundaries.
