Turn Around

AlanLichty

AlanLichty

Moderator
I wandered out to shoot the sunrise the first morning after arriving in Brookings in December but was greeted by a beach that was almost solid footprints. There had been no storms of note in weeks there and the waves looked like they belonged in a toddler's wading pool. The result was far less than photogenic for usual views but in this case turning around and shooting only the edges of the beach proved fruitful. This is one image from that session.

Turn Around

Turn Around

A sunrise view looking behind - Harris Beach State Park, Oregon.

C&C always welcome.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Super cool Alan! I like that Lip of the incoming water. I think you have hit on something here.

I know for me, there is not a beach in SoCsl that is not covered with foot prints, so for years I have been shooting down at the waters edge, it’s the only way possible to avoid torn up sand from the foot prints.

You might want to consider shooting down closer to the water more often, even if there aren’t any footprints to avoid. You have so many awesome beach captures from up in Oregon and Washington, but I will confess that once in a while I will say to myself, “Alan, get closer to the water.” :) For me at least, having the rush of the water in the immediate foreground of beach photos really pulls the viewer into the photo.

Now of course there are times to stand back, some of your photos with the water drainage leading down across the beach into the ocean have awesome leading lines, and they do also provide great reflective surfaces. But maybe you can get down to the edge of the water a little more in the future? I think it can add a nice element. Plus it can give you some occasional excitement as you rush out of the way of a big wave... :D
 
AlanLichty

AlanLichty

Moderator
JimFox said:
Super cool Alan! I like that Lip of the incoming water. I think you have hit on something here.

I know for me, there is not a beach in SoCsl that is not covered with foot prints, so for years I have been shooting down at the waters edge, it’s the only way possible to avoid torn up sand from the foot prints.

You might want to consider shooting down closer to the water more often, even if there aren’t any footprints to avoid. You have so many awesome beach captures from up in Oregon and Washington, but I will confess that once in a while I will say to myself, “Alan, get closer to the water.” :) For me at least, having the rush of the water in the immediate foreground of beach photos really pulls the viewer into the photo.

Now of course there are times to stand back, some of your photos with the water drainage leading down across the beach into the ocean have awesome leading lines, and they do also provide great reflective surfaces. But maybe you can get down to the edge of the water a little more in the future? I think it can add a nice element. Plus it can give you some occasional excitement as you rush out of the way of a big wave... :D
Click to expand...
I am actually well acquainted with the "grab your tripod and flee" moments in spite of many shots I post showing wide open beaches. I had several of those moments on the day I shot the image above. I always make sure I am tracking the waves out of the corner of my eye even on days when the waves are small like this one. I may post a lot of wide open beach scenes but those are just what got posted. I have well over 100 images from the morning I shot this and quite a few show no sand at all with the water lapping at my boots while I was shooting.

Sunrise shooting sessions always have to balance where the color show is in the skies vs. what's on the ground when you live out along the west coast so footprints can be a hassle. Sunsets are an easier subject since you can just head to the edge of the water and leave the footprints behind you. I have a bunch of shots I might turn over to Ben from this same morning with incredible skies above and photoshop nightmares down below.

For sunsets I typically start out as far from the water as I can get without footprints when shooting with a beach drainage for interesting sand patterns. As the sunset progresses I gradually move forward towards the water's edge and keep shooting. The given is that I am leaving my own footprint mess every time I move closer so moving backwards isn't a good option.
 
JimFox

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
AlanLichty said:
I am actually well acquainted with the "grab your tripod and flee" moments in spite of many shots I post showing wide open beaches. I had several of those moments on the day I shot the image above. I always make sure I am tracking the waves out of the corner of my eye even on days when the waves are small like this one. I may post a lot of wide open beach scenes but those are just what got posted. I have well over 100 images from the morning I shot this and quite a few show no sand at all with the water lapping at my boots while I was shooting.

Sunrise shooting sessions always have to balance where the color show is in the skies vs. what's on the ground when you live out along the west coast so footprints can be a hassle. Sunsets are an easier subject since you can just head to the edge of the water and leave the footprints behind you. I have a bunch of shots I might turn over to Ben from this same morning with incredible skies above and photoshop nightmares down below.

For sunsets I typically start out as far from the water as I can get without footprints when shooting with a beach drainage for interesting sand patterns. As the sunset progresses I gradually move forward towards the water's edge and keep shooting. The given is that I am leaving my own footprint mess every time I move closer so moving backwards isn't a good option.
Click to expand...
ha ha, I remember a lot of shoot and run shots when we were up at the last PNW gathering!

thanks for sharing your thought process too. The difference between sunset and sunrise can be huge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom