Paddling Into The Sun
A peaceful introspective moment for a lone paddle boarder upon the ocean as he paddles into the majestic sunrise as the sea gulls watch playfully from above....
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A peaceful introspective moment for a lone paddle boarder upon the ocean as he paddles into the majestic sunrise as the sea gulls watch playfully from above.
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Aug, 2016Views
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Top Shot Award 22
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Surf City, NJ on Long Beach Island which is an 18 mile long barrier island off of the coast of NJ. I could have just as easily picked just about any beach on the Island and captured the same image because it's not over developed and is a peaceful place to go when you want to spend time at the "Jersey Shore" but without the boardwalks and amusement parks. It’s just pristine white sand beaches for as far as the eye can see.Time
I remember setting my alarm for 5:00 am on Saturday July 16, 2016 because the sun was set to rise at 5:39 am. This would give me just enough time to throw on my shorts, tee shirt and a hat (no shoes required for the beach) and grab my already packed gear and hit the road. It takes about 10 minutes from the time I leave my house till my toes are in the sand. I quickly walked down to the water’s edge on an empty stretch of beach and set up my tripod and focused in on my composition then attached my Lee ND filters and waited. Then wouldn't you know that a paddle boarder walks up and set his board down about 20 feet in front of me and is staring out at the water completely blocking my shot! I yelled to him that he was in my shot and he waved and moved backwards. Once again I was calm and relaxed and ready for the sunrise and only had about 5 minutes to go when the same guy did the unthinkable! He jumped in the water with his board and began paddling right through my shot! At first I was outraged and couldn't believe my shot would be ruined by this guy. But then I decided to adapt to the situation and use it to my advantage. So as the sun rose, I was able to capture not only him, but a large boat traveling towards the sunrise as well as three seagulls to fill out the composition. So it went from my shot being ruined to, “Wow, I just got a great shot because of this guy!”Lighting
If you want to add amazing colors and drama to any landscape shot then sunrise and sunset will yield the best probability of that happening. During those times the light is at a low angle to the landscape and reflects a full spectrum of colors off of the land, the ocean, the clouds and even the atmospheric haze producing a palette of unbelievable colors to the viewer.Equipment
This image was captured using my Canon kit lens 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM attached to my Canon T6s body, set at a 32 mm focal length, F/6.3 aperture, 1/125 sec and ISO 100. I also used the Lee 2 Stop Neutral Density Filter paired with Lee’s 2 Stop Soft Gradient Neutral Density Filter and all was mounted on my Benro Tripod. Since I knew I would be looking directly into the sun I knew I needed to use the Lee Filters to cut down on the amount of light hitting the sensor in order to keep the ISO at100 and preserve the detail of the image and not end up with a blown out image of sunlight.Inspiration
I think growing up so close to the beach has allowed me to take it for granted. When I realized that this setting is not something that every photographer has access to anytime they want I was inspired to take advantage of the opportunity that is within my reach every day and all I had to do is set my alarm a little earlier than usual to achieve this goal. The only consideration I had was the weather, which plays a big part in what you see when you get to the beach. This is true for the beach more so than other landscape settings not only for the obvious reasons such as cloudy skies and or rain but also because of the constantly shifting sands with the ebb and flow of the tides, as well as the way the sky reflects off of the water due to the type of wave structure determined by the wind and currents. So I waited for a stretch of calm weather, which in turn created calm surf, so I knew the horizon wouldn’t be overtaken be high waves crashing on the shore. With the weather being calm and partly cloudy skies for the sun to reflect off of, I knew I was in for something special that morning and hit the beach.Editing
When I captured this image the only program I had begun to learn to use was Adobe Lightroom CC and had not yet even realized its full potential. So I did some very basic Lightroom adjustments that played with the shadows, highlights, and overall exposure. Then with a little bit of clarity and a touch of vibrancy it was done. I now know much more about Lightroom and Photoshop as well as Google’s NIK plugins, which by the way are fantastic, but I honestly enjoy the simplistic editing that this image deserved and have never gone back to put it through the workflow I use now. Sometimes with the software you can get carried away in post processing and you have to restrain from over editing various elements. I believe it was a great advantage to me at the time, having the limited knowledge of the possibilities that Lightroom provides because it enabled me to keep the true, natural beauty of the scene almost untouched and allow it to speak for itself without embellishments.In my camera bag
I just took up photography as a hobby in February of 2016, which is when I bought my first DSLR, the Canon T6s. The hobby quickly became an obsession and I devoured all the information I could whether in books or online in an effort to learn how to best capture the images I wanted. In my opinion it is a very modest set up but a great setup for someone just beginning and not wanting to spend too much, which I found is very easy to do when purchasing new gear! I use the Canon kit lenses that came as a bundle with the camera body and they are the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. I also carry a Canon 50mm f1/8 STM which is used mostly for everyday family pics around the house because of its tack sharp images and the ability to provide great Bokeh if you like and it works well in low light conditions which is great when inside with my children and I don’t want to use a flash. I’m just beginning to explore the possibilities this lens provides in the landscape environment. As far as my tripod goes I have a very lightweight aluminum Vivitar that I only bring with me when I am wandering around in unfamiliar territory and unsure if I will actually use a tripod because of its light weight and compact size. When I know I need a good sturdy tripod I bring my Benro FVY18CIB0 Velocity Series 1 Carbon Fiber Tripod with an IB0 Ball Head. This is as solid as they come and a little on the heavy side but not too heavy that you can’t hike around with it as long as you know where you are going and how long you will be carrying the gear otherwise it can become a bit cumbersome even with the shoulder strap they provide for its carrying case. As mentioned earlier I also carry some Lee Filters. I have the Lee Big Stopper which is a 10 stop neutral density filter as well as the two of their 2 stop filters, one being the regular neutral density filter and the other the soft gradient neutral density filter. I’ve also tried my hand at some long exposure work since I have the 10 stop filter and a sturdy tripod but to complete the gear for that type of work I also carry a Vello Shutterboss Remote Trigger which is great for programming delays, duration of exposures as well as the number of shots to be taken. All of this minus the tripod goes into my Canon Deluxe Backpack Bag 200EG which is just the right size for everything I carry.Feedback
If anyone would like to capture a sunrise image on the beach, aside from the obvious of knowing when the sun will rise and being at the beach I would bring a sturdy tripod, with your camera of choice set to RAW and attach a wide angle lens. I always shoot in RAW due to its post processing flexibility but if you want to shoot JPEG because that’s your comfort zone then be all means go for it. You don’t necessarily have to use the neutral density filters either but if you do you as you can see with my image they allow much more detail to come through besides blinding sunlight. Get there at least 20 minutes before the sunrises to get setup and frame your shot, focus and get ready for the action. The sky goes through a beautiful display of color changes prior to the sun coming up over the horizon so you may find that these images are worth taking as well, but once the sun rises, it’s game time! Take a test shot and check to make sure it looks the way you want. If not make some quick adjustments and try again. Once you have it, take as many shots as you can because the sun rises quicker than you may think and the scene changes with every moment that passes. Once you and or your memory card has had enough then you can go home, have some much needed coffee, and sort through a catalog of beautiful photos and select the one’s that you feel convey the emotion and imagery you were looking to capture. I have learned that planning in advance is one of the most important elements of capturing great images. Therefore I would suggest visiting the destination where you would like to capture images and determine what time of day would yield the best image given your selected composition. Would it be a sunrise or sunset? Would it be with clear skies, cloudy skies, or even blue bird skies with a high noon sun? Once you have these answers plan your excursion so that all of the elements line up to create what you had envisioned and capture your image.
