Meditation Group by Lifeguard Shack
Meditation Group sets up lights by lifeguard shack at South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.
Meditation Group sets up lights by lifeguard shack at South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.
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Feb, 2017Views
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Awards
Action Award
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Shooting The Blue Hour Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 19
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo I took during the blue hour at South Beach, Florida at a park named South Point Pier.Time
I had done my homework on such things as the tide, moon up/ moon down, sun up/ sun down, Google Earth and whatever I could use to best help me with what I wanted for this shoot. I had two friends interested, but one could not make it. We got to the park as the sun was setting. What I did not count with was that the wind was blowing hard from the East and we had nice puffy clouds to help with this shot. I was facing the West wanting to get photos from many angles of the lifeguard shack. I was really surprised and happy when a lady showed up, started setting electronic candles up for a Meditation group. I knew at that point that there would an excellent chance of recording photos with an extra twist to them. This photo was taken at 6:54 PM on February 10, 2017Lighting
I have been slowly but surely acquiring Lee filters. I love being able to get longer exposure photos with my ten stopper. I have been learning a lot about exposure by playing with the controls on my camera. Once the sun went down and the lighting faded I was able to put my filters away and work solely with the camera. I am amazed on how every extra time I go out on photo shoots, just how much more I learn on controlling the camera and it's settings. This particular night I was able to control my exposures by small increments down to even a half second so I can try to get the perfect blur on water waves. That had a lot to do with thinking through the camera settings and what I was going to be able to do to the camera next time I was going to go shoot. It was at home when I was not in the field and exposed to the weather that I was learning most of this.Equipment
I used a Canon 60D APS-C Sensor type camera along with a Tokina SD 11-16 F2.8 DX2 along with a shutter release cable switch mounted on my Induro CT 313 Carbon 8X with an Induro BHM2 ball head. No filter.Inspiration
I was aching to do some night photography because of the longer shutter speeds that can be attained to create special effects during the low light hours. I had been following Deborah Sandidge and her style of photography during the blue hour. More of my inspiration also came from many other photographers in Viewbug. My new found attraction to the many different methods of creating special effects photos kept me wanting to go out and experiment. I used Google Earth to give me some idea of what the area would look like since I do live in the Miami, Florida area, but I had not visited South Beach in a very long time. I also knew that night City pictures could be very awesome when taken right. I also used the Photographer's Ephemeris to help with other issues such as moon up, sun down and the direction at which it would occur along with the times of occurrence.Editing
I use Lightroom to help with post processing. I do realize that there is plenty I can still learn with post processing and I would also at one point love to start using Photoshop. I simply play with the sliders, but I have been learning to try not to over do it by going to extremes with the sliders. I normally will try my best to not have to crop or have to drastically post process by getting my picture as right as possible on the spot.In my camera bag
I have a Canon 60D. Lenses: Tokina 11-16 F2.8. Canon 18-135 lens. Canon 18-55. Lee Filters foundation kit with a Lee polarizer, Lee 10 stopper neutral density filter. Canon shutter switch. A Black Diamond headlamp and I carry an Induro CT 313 8X carbon fiber tripod with an Induro BHM2 ballhead in my Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera backpack.Feedback
While I understand that cloud conditions and even weather patterns are not easy to predict there are many resources on the internet we can use to have a much better chance at capturing what we are looking for in a certain photograph. I extensively used many resources to my advantage. I included time of the day, whether I wanted a weekday or weekend. Parking, accessibility, local knowledge. It all came down to having all of that and then get lucky with weather conditions that would play into what I was looking for. It is true, I have gone to places and have turned around and went home without even bringing out my camera from my bag, but I have also gone to places thinking not much will come out of it and it has turned out to become a magical moment for me. My advice is if you can share a photo shoot with someone else that has your same interest, do so, but be ready to go at it alone. So far most of my alone expeditions have been the best. Never quit, your next best pic is just around the corner.
