South Pointe Pier Blue Hour
Taken looking East into the Atlantic ocean at the Southernmost point of South beach, Miami Beach, Florida
Taken looking East into the Atlantic ocean at the Southernmost point of South beach, Miami Beach, Florida
Read less
Read less
Feb, 2017Views
2210
Likes
Awards
Featured
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 2Top 20 rank week 1Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken at South Point Pier. The pier is located at the southern most point of Miami Beach, FloridaTime
This picture was one of several I took on a late cold afternoon by South Florida standards in the Month of January. We got to the spot before sunset and worked right into the night. My plan was to get some really good practice at controlling my camera's shutter speed. I remember how lucky we had gotten by having a good strong wind coming directly at us from the East along with puffy clouds.Lighting
When I first got to the spot I had my ND filters with me and ready to use if needed. I soon realized that by waiting for the sun to set and entering the blue hour, that the use of filters would not be needed to obtain the longer shutter speeds I was wanting. I place the camera atop my sturdy tripod,pointed straight into the wind in a way that made the clouds rush straight at me. With the lowest ISO possible I could provide I was able to slow down the shutter speed just enough to get that really cool motion we so much love to see from the fast tightly clustered clouds. As the light continued to disappear I kept playing with my f-stops and my ISO's to have full control of the shutter speeds. I managed to leave the photo shoot on that night with an incredible sense of growth regarding my photography and with a hand full of some of my best shots to this date!.Equipment
I used a Canon 60D with a Tokina 11-16 f 2.8 lens sitting on my Enduro carbon fiber tripod with a hard wired shutter release.Inspiration
I was inspired to use this location so I could expand my photography from landscapes to other subjects. I used Google Earth to get acquainted with what was happening at that location at the time. Miami and the adjacent cities are growing so fast I was amazed at what had become of this location. I called a friend that had recently purchased new equipment and I talked him into coming with me as a team. I knew we could both learn from each other and working together also provided some protection while working as a team. I timed our best possibilities at trying to get long exposure shots. We were amazed at what we saw at this newly constructed park at the most Southern tip of Miami Beach. We got really lucky with nature proving us with the fast moving clouds we captured on our photos.Editing
Light Room is my go to for post processing. I did the normal: highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, clarity, exposure, a bit of white balance and a bit of noise control to bring her to where she is at now. I made sure I did not have to almost crop at all by properly setting my tripod in a way that I could keep all of my pixels.In my camera bag
I have a Lowpro Flipside 400AW bag. In it I carry mainly two lenses, an 11 by 16 f2.8 and a kit lens at 18 by 135. I have multiple Lee ND filters, a polarized filter, extra batteries, charger, shutter trigger, wipes, and adapters rings for all of my lenses to attach my Lee filter holder.Feedback
South Beach is a tourist attraction all year round, if you can avoid Friday and Saturday nights for night photography, you will be well on your way to getting some very interesting shots. If you decide to do daytime shooting, avoid Saturday and Sunday, for rest of the week the place will be pretty much empty. The photography in this area can range from some really cool buildings, cars, people, beaches, life guard shacks and some local native plants.Parking can be a problem during the earlier mentioned times. It is best to try not to get a free spot because of a chance of getting your vehicle removed. It is well worth paying for a spot so you can have peace of mind while you work on all of your thoughts into creating some really cool pictures.
