16 5 16 Sunset Tamarindo Bay
XE2 Nikon 24mm LR5.7 Intensify Velvia. It rained a little today. Clouds and a great Sunset.
XE2 Nikon 24mm LR5.7 Intensify Velvia. It rained a little today. Clouds and a great Sunset.
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May, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Tamarindo Bay, Playa Tamarindo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica on the North Pacific coast where we get some amazing sunsets. The bay with it's little island makes for great shots.Time
I took this shot around 6.00pm in the evening. As we are in the Tropics our sunsets are "early". The light develops for about 15 minutes and will produce magic suddenly almost from no where. I live 150m from the beach and make my way home through the dusk.Lighting
It is about patience - I get to beach at about 5.40pm then wait until the light and colours hit their peak. Sometimes this can be just before dusk after the sun has set. I have learnt to "read" the sky over the last 18 months.Equipment
For this shot I used a Fuji XE2 with a Nikon 24mm f2.8 lens @ f11. All my sunset photos are hand held. The ISO was 400 and shutter speed 1/180. I love using older and vintage lenses on my XE2 from the 24mm through 35mm, 50mm and 105mm. I also have a Konica Hexanon 50mm f1.7 which is a super lens. I shoot in RAW/JPEG but usually publish from the RAW image as it gives me more latitude in post processing.Inspiration
I am blessed to live in such a beautiful place. Even in the 21st century the light here has a clarity and luminance that is breathtaking. My home is 4 minutes from the beach and I have learnt to read the light so I know by about 5.15pm if there might be a brilliant sunset. Sometimes I get super lucky and get a seascape/sunset that is mind blowingly beautiful, like this one.Editing
For me I find the combination of LR5.7 and a "light touch" of Intensify CK perfect to draw out depth and colour. The IQ and image "feel" of the Fuji sensor generally allows me to get what I want without too much work. I sometimes use Alien Skin Exposure X for film simulation, masking & framing - great software. Using the RAW image works for me too. For shots involving lots of trees and foliage I am experimenting with Iridient Developer as I find it gives a cleaner, sharper image than LR with the Fuji/Nikon lens combination.In my camera bag
I am currently shooting mainly with Fuji. So I have the XE2 body with plenty of back up batteries. Right now I have Fuji 16-50mm, Nikon 105mm f2.5 Ai'd vintage and the Konica Hexanon 50mm f1.7 which is the usual "on camera" lens. I vary this with either the Nikon 24mm or Nikon 35mm Ai'd replacing the 105mm. If I am away for the day I would bring one of my "old" Nikons either D300 or D7K with an 18-250mm Sigma lens which gives me the ability to shoot wildlife. After a year of shooting almost entirely with Nikon/Zoom combinations(10-20mm Sigma & 18-250mm Sigma) I am now shooting with Fuji plus, generally, manual primes and the one "kit" auto focus zoom (which is an excellent lens). I love the light weight of the Fuji kit and shooting primes with no Auto Focus takes me back to my film days with a Nikon FM. For Landscape/Seascape work it is no challenge to focus manually. As I get older, I am moving away from heavy DSLRs to almost exclusively Fuji and will, soon, add more prime lenses and possibly another body.Feedback
Choose a location where you have as little air pollution as possible. I used to live in West Devon in the UK and the air was clean and the light fantastic. Costa Rica is just amazing and has wonderful light. Also for sunsets and seascapes clouds, for me, are the key to a my idea of a good photo. Since living in Tamarindo, Costa Rica I have learnt to "read the sky". I try to use a "film" approach and don't fire off loads of shots hoping for a "good" one. However I always shoot a number of frames at the "peak" of the sunset using slightly different angles and portrait as well as the landscape point of view. I have a tripod but never use it! I find the idea of lugging a tripod around very restricting! I like to move around and photograph as I walk. Above all it is imperative to be patient and wait for the best light you can get at that particular place and time. Oh and also very important - enjoy your photography and magic will happen.
