Sunset paddle
paddle boarder at sunset of the coast of Koh Tao
paddle boarder at sunset of the coast of Koh Tao
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Jul, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken while I was having dinner at a beach restaurant on the small island, Koh Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand. We could just see a tiny bit of the brilliant colours from the sunset poking through the clouds. There were a few remaining people still out on paddle boards and one paddled right across the last strip of sunlight.Time
I took this photo at sunset around 7:30pm.Lighting
It had been completely clouded over for all of the sunsets so far as it was coming into wet season in Thailand so we were so excited to see even a bit of the sun. I think that the clouds actually add to this picture creating a more dynamic photo and making the colours from the sunset that poke through the clouds more drastic. When composing shots like this when there is only a small patch of light it's important to get a focus in the light. the silhouette of the person on the paddle board really makes this photo.Equipment
I took this photo with my Nikon D3200 with the normal 18-55mm lens . The flash was off and no extra equipment was required. I used a slow shutter speed, 10/1600, to capture the light from the sunset and to silhouette the figure and boats.Inspiration
This particular shot was not planned particularly in advance, I think some amazing shots can be taken if you experience a great moment, this I why if I'm going anywhere beautiful I always take my camera in case I get lucky. Saying that I've always loved a sunset over water as I think the reflection makes the sunset even more beautiful. In this case i was a little disappointed there wasn't more of the sun visible until I saw one of the paddle boarders moving towards the sunlight being reflected in the water. I took quite a few shots to get the one of her in the perfect place.Editing
As I'm still learning to use my camera to it's full potential I think I didn't put the shutter speed quite low enough to capture the light as well as I could have. i also didn't have my tripod on me at the time. This meant that when i looked at the photo on my laptop the colours weren't quite as strong as the were in real life. to fix this I increased the contrast and the saturation to make the silhouettes stand out more and the colour from the sunset show.In my camera bag
I always take my Nikon D3200 with me while travelling, its a really good camera and great for travellers as it's so small and light for a DSLR. i usually keep my 18-55mm lens on this as I take photos of landscapes more often. I sometimes take my zoom lens, 55-300mm, for wildlife photography though its handy to take a tripod for using a zoom lens. I love the Joby Gorillapod as they're small and easily transportable and you can put them on just about any surface as you can wrap the legs around objects.Feedback
I think patience is the key to great photography. If you want to catch a nice sunset shot in Thailand then you may be better to go early in the year in the dry season. If you want a more dramatic shot like this one then May and June would be the time to go, just before wet season takes over and blocks out the sun all together. Islands like Koh Tao and parts of Krabi will get the quieter beach shots like this as they are less built up like Koh Samui and Phuket.
