March Gales: Grand Haven, Michigan
Gale force winds at Grand Haven State Park
Gale force winds at Grand Haven State Park
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Canon EOS-1D X
Aperture f/5.6 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/8000 Focal Length 400/1 
Grand Haven, Michigan, US
Mar, 2017Views
1912
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Awards
Winner in Great Lakes Photo Challenge
Peer Choice Award
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
All Star
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
Genius
Virtuoso
Emotions
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Categories
Forrest_Imagery
October 18, 2018
Wow, what a shot !
An excellent stop-action photograph, with an impressive sense of size, scale and power !
An excellent stop-action photograph, with an impressive sense of size, scale and power !
Platinum
PRO
rolandomunari
December 07, 2018
That looks very impressive, great shot! It surely tells a story of the mighty power of nature and what the wind can do when it travels over extended areas of water. Keep the great work flowing!
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Turtlelady68
April 04, 2023
Great shot! I love that lighthouse, but I've never been there when it's windy and super wavy. Do you live near there?
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Holland, Michigan is my home town, but all the ports along the west coast of of the Lower Peninsula offer some fantastic photo opportunities. This photo was taken at Grand Haven, MI about 25 miles north of Holland. This was shot in March with 30+ mph winds. It was a sunny day so that contrast between the blue sky and the white spray of the crashing waves were breathtaking.Time
This photo was shot in mid afternoon at about 2:30. In March the sun doesn't climb as high in the sky as it does at mid summer in Michigan. So was able to capture some nice highlights and shadows on the lighthouse.Lighting
I didn't do anything special for the lighting.Equipment
I had both my cameras along for this shoot, a Canon 1dx and 70d. I took this photo with the 1dx with a 70-200 2.8 lens with a 2x extender III. This shot was handheld. I had my 70d on the tripod.Inspiration
Whenever the weather report is for high winds, I right away think about making a trip to the shoreline for some awesome pictures. The temperature was beginning to warm up at the time of this shoot, so I didn't have to bundle up like I usually do for these shots, since the gale force winds usually happen during the winter months.Editing
I did dome minor adjustments in Lightroom. I bumped the dehaze a bit and nudged the contrast to accentuate the spray against the blue sky.In my camera bag
Canon 1DX and Canon 7d, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, EF70-200mm f/2.8L II USM, 85mm f1.2 USM. Lee soft and hard graduated ND filters and a 10 stop "Big Stopper" ND filter, Really Right Stuff 40 Ball head on a Gitzo tripod, two Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT all in a FStop Tilopa Backpack.Feedback
I used a fast shutter speed (1/8000) to freeze the spray of the crashing wave. My f stop was at 5.6. Next time I might choose 8f (my lens' sweet spot) and slow my shutter speed to 1/4000 (still plenty fast to freeze the water). Lake Michigan is a beautiful lake to take photos of. Sunsets are amazing and the lighthouse up the coast are varied and beautiful, not to mention the people and seagulls.
