How To Shoot Good Seascapes

Though I grew up in Southern California, I live and mostly shoot in Colorado.  I guess you could say I'm a "mountain photographer", so my trip this last April brought some new experiences, as well as re-awakened old ones. It's not like I've never photographed on the coast before, it's just that I was a bit rusty, and needed to be reminded of how things work out here to get good images.  Digital has made the process easier for sure; no more waiting a couple of weeks to see how whatever you did worked.

Bandon, Oregon

Sunsets and Silhouettes

Shooting on the West Coast you are mostly dealing with sunset light and sunsets.  If you have seastacks or a prominent point or cape (or lighthouse) you can use those as silhouettes in your image.  If you have a beach in front of you, find a tide pool, pond, stream or wet area for reflections.  Hopefully there will be good clouds to enhance your sunset as well.

Shooting Up or Down the Coast with Good Light

Again silhouttes or backlighting can come into play here, but for the most part you will be using the good evening (or morning) light to light up the cliffs, seastacks, beach, driftwood, etc.  Here you have to watch for sea spray that can dull the features in your image.  A clear day will be to your advantage.

On (in) the Water

Getting close to the surf can be a wet experience, make sure to have good footwear (rubber boots come to mind), and keep your photo pack on your back or far from the surf.  You might have to be fleet of foot and be ready to move your tripod repeatedly, but capturing the motion of the surf in the foreground can yield some really interesting images.  Play with shutting down your aperture and ISO to get the longest shutter speed possible to get some cool motion effects.

Mendocino Coast, California

HDR is Worthless

HDR is great for images that don't move.  No such luck with moving surf and water.  Consider using a graduated split neutral density filter to tame your bright skies and sunsets, and make use of Lightroom's highlight and shadow capabilities if you have to.  The Nikon D800E sensor has such amazing dynamic range that I am able to pull detail out of both both bright highlights and deep shadows without additional noise.  With this camera I feel I hardly need HDR anyway...

Useful Apps

It's important to know the tides when you're shooting on the water, both for your safety and ability to plan your shots.  There are some great tidal apps made for that purpose.  And if you haven't already downloaded a sun/moon app to determine timing, position, etc., the time is now.   Focalware and  Simple Tides are two that I like.

Mendocino, California

This re-do of an image I shot over 25 years ago in Antelope Canyon, AZ. Back then a friend and I had heard about this place and eventually found it, no people to be found. We had the place to ourselves for hours. I shot a ton of 4x5's, including this image, but when I returned I noticed the image was a bit soft, so I vowed to go back one day and re-do. Little did I know it would not be until 25+ years later! And what a change of scene. Now you have to take a "tour" with busloads of others. I was lucky enough to get a "photo tour" during the slow part of the day, but it was sobering to see how commercialized it had become...

The Watchman and Virgin River, Zion National Park, Utah, last October

As photographers we chase light, but also moments....this image is one where it all came together in an exquisite, slice of time. This was on a two week trip through the Southwest.  I had two "moments" where it where all the elements of a good landscape coalesced on that trip.  After 25 years of doing this, I feel like I've developed the knowledge, but also the instincts to know where to be when these moments arrive....and just to be there in such beauty makes me grateful indeed.