I wonder about things while I’m out shooting. Like, what attracts us to the edge of the ocean? What makes it so special? Why does a lot the size of our living room on the beach cost a million dollars, when you can’t even get insurance for it? These were the thoughts running through my head as I stumbled out into the dark sand an hour before sunrise.
The plan was to get some long exposures (20 to 30 second range) in order to make the waves appear smooth or surreal. Shooting long exposures as the sun inches up is a game of hurry up and wait. A 30 second exposure takes 60 seconds as the noise reduction software in the camera must process the image.
I only seemed to get a few images made before there it was, the sun. Within five minutes of clearing the horizon, the sun is simply too bright to shoot as part of the composition. I’m very happy with the results. The subtle calming colors before dawn are very soothing and satisfying. The extra scouting effort the afternoon before to find this pier and the very early morning wake up call were worth the effort.
CAMERA EQUIPMENT: Nikon D700, 70-200mm f2, 28-70mm f/2, 17-35mm f2, cable release, Manfrotto tripod, Really Right Stuff head, (using a Singh-Ray variable neutral density filter to increased exposure time and smooth water)
by Kent Weakley
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