The Sunset Strip
The road along the national seashore portion on Santa Rosa Island is one that I love and know well.
The road along the national seashore portion on Santa Rosa Island is one that I love and know well.
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Mar, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
In attempt to access an area along the sound side shore of Santa Rosa Island in NwFl I found the lack of breeze and abundance of yellow flies to be a little too much for comfort as I was only wearing a pair of board shorts and a tank top. So I found myself along the Beach Hwy taking long exposures of the slow moving clouds and cars as they lazily passed by on their way to the ever popular Pensacola Beach area. As they drove off into the sunset I set my small table top tripod down to capture the scene as I saw it. This particular area is located within the boundaries of the Gulf Coast National Seashore located on Santa Rosa Island. From my vantage point lies what appears to be an endless expanse of dune and marsh hammocks home to an abundance of wildlife and scenery.Time
With the approaching sunset I headed west passed the hustle and bustle of tourists and fishermen planning their evening events. As the clock read 6pm I knew that tonights sunset was going to be another beauty. I intended to head to the northern shore of the this barrier island in hopes to incorporate some water into my shots. However when I made the hike to my intended destination I realized I had not dressed for the assignment. The southern ocean breeze was scarce and where the breeze lacked the yellow flies buzzed in abundance. So after suffering through a few shots down by the water's edge I headed back to the hwy and happened to capture this scene.Lighting
No real secrets here as far as lighting goes. Just a longer set of exposure and low aperture while tripod mounted to gain the cloud and car movement. I happened to be here at the right time. I find that 30 to 45 minutes after the sun has set is a great time to capture the pastels and afterglows.Equipment
With this exposure I used my Canon 70D on a small Manfrotto table top tripod to achieve the insect perspective. I allowed my shutter to be open for 15 seconds so I would capture the movement of the passing cars with the Canon 10-22mm at F3.5. ISO set at 100, and focus set at infinity... or slightly behind. To capture I set my in camera timer to 2 second delay to help with any camera shake.Inspiration
As I was leaving my original spot by the waters edge I looked down the Beach Hwy to the afterglow brought on my the setting sun. As cars went by I remembered the old western movies I had seen as a child with the hero riding off into the sunset. I thought to myself how good I have it to be able to call such a beautiful place home. As the tourists pile into there cars and head west in search of oysters and fish dinners I set up this shot to capture a scene that many of us locals may take for granted. I called it the Sunset Strip.Editing
As always I shoot in RAW. So in order to bring out the vibrancy I retouched the photo in Adobe Light Room. The Canon 70D has its own set of issues especially when it comes to noise. I had to raise the noise reduction to 30% and the noise color to 70% to cut down on the magenta grain. I then enhanced the blue and purples in saturation to make the sky pop.In my camera bag
I try to be a minimalist in anything I do as I find that less is usually more in most cases. My bag consists of a few items such as a microfiber cloth, a lens pen, and a small rocket. Working in a ocean side environment I have to be weary of small sand particles entering my lenses. Then I have an extra SD card and battery just in case. Other than that I do not carry much more other than some personal effects like a small flash light and head lamp and trusty Nalgene water bottle. I usually have a Thermacell (bug repellent) with me but as I previously stated I forgot it at home on this outing.Feedback
This was captured when I was still learning the basics. In hindsight I would've raised the ISO to of better exposed the stars but there is always a next time. Tripod is a must in low light situations as well as manual focus. When using the Canon 70D you have to work around the in camera issues such as high noise and slow auto focus in low light. To try to cut down on these issues I set my camera to 100 ISO and my 10-22 lens to infinity focus or slightly behind a millimeter or two. To capture movement trails a slower shutter speed is required. Depending on your subject and speed of the subject set the shutter speed accordingly. In this case I was set at 15 seconds. In conjunction with these settings I used my little Manfrotto table top tripod to gain the low line of sight perspective. I like the insect field of view so to speak. And lastly to avoid any camera shake while pressing the shutter button I set my in-camera timer at a 2 second delay. As always be aware of your surroundings and when photographing around traffic wear bright clothing or if at night or low light maybe wear a glow stick or light. I hope this helps some of you that are learning an shooting similar subjects. Happy shooting and be safe out there.
