Photography News Issue 54

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Photography News | Issue 54 | photographynews.co.uk

Technique

3. Find seaside reflections

4. Look for simple compositions

Rather than just looking for traditional landscapes, try hunting out more abstract or simple compositions at the coast. A lone rock sticking out of the sea is perfect for this, especially when combined with a long exposure, which will seem to make it hang in a mist of water. For more on setting up long exposures see this month’s Camera School page. The most important thing, though, is to get your framing right. If you compose too wide, you’ll provide too much context and lose the simplicity; instead, crop closely on the subject, making it the dominant element in the scene. To help, try shooting with a telephoto zoom or prime; a 70-200mm or 70-300mm zoom gives lots of reach and versatility, but primes like an 85mm portrait lens, or a 105mm macro can give you enough magnification, too.

Wet sand might not be your camera’s friend, but the way it reflects light can certainly help your landscape images. This is especially true when faced with a lack of foreground interest. Wet sand, rocks and pools of shallow standing water will glimmer, so long as you make sure to shoot at least partially towards the light. The sun doesn’t need to

be low, as it is at dawn or dusk, in order to get reflections either. Most of the time, you’ll get the best reflections when the tide is going out, though on very flat beaches it can wetten as the water comes in, or stay that way all day. Position yourself close to the ground when composing, and tilt the camera until you see the reflections appear.

Crop closely on the subject, making it the dominant element in the scene... with a telephoto zoom or prime

Above Lone rocks work well with long exposures.

5. You don’t always need the sun

The coast can often be a harsh environment and landscape photography can reflect that; it’s not always about warm light and twinkling shorelines. So, don’t give up if the conditions are bleak, instead embrace it and use them to tell the story of your location. Dark and stormy days mean a lack of light, but that just makes it easier to shoot long exposures; these will add motion to heavy clouds giving storms a brooding purpose. If shooting in high winds, you may find it difficult to steady your tripod though; to help weigh it down, attach your bag or something else heavy to the hook on the bottom of the centre column or at the collar. And of course, make sure to keep a rain cover to hand in case you get caught in a squall.

Above You may think that rutted wet sand is an uninspiring foreground, but position your camera low enough to pick up the contrast and reflections and it will enliven any seaside scene.

Above Shoot in dim and stormy conditions and you can be in for dramatic seas and skies. The gloommakes long exposures easier, too.

6. Increase your distance

Landscapes don’t always need to be shot as wide-angles or panoramas and, like any other scenic subject, seaside views can benefit from a telephoto approach. The cropped viewhelps you pick out details, and simplifywhat, at the seaside, can be a chaotic subject. A telephoto approach also lets you more easily frame man-made subjects against the sea, showing their fragility against nature, and if you’re lucky enough to get to the coast during a celestial event like a full or new moon, or even an eclipse, a long-lens view will help

A cropped view helps you pick out details and simplify the subject

you feature it more prominently in the composition, assuming you get it low enough in the sky. If you’re using a large and heavy telephoto lens and it has a tripod collar, make sure you use that to mount it on your tripod head for

extra stability. If you don’t, the set- up can become very front heavy, dragging the lens down, and any minor movements will blur the fine details you’re trying to capture, especially if you’re shooting at slower shutter speeds.

Right You don’t need be right next to the water for good seaside shots. Break out your telephoto lenses and shoot from further back for simpler scenes.

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