Photographing Landscapes: Seascapes

[Music] i believe that as humans we have an inherent instinctive attraction to the sea i can spend hours watching the surf roll in on a rocky coastline or lap gently on a sandy shore [Music] seascapes for me represent a particular technical challenge for photography as a subject these landscapes are inherently dynamic and it's this that represents both the challenge and the joy that these landscapes can bring to a photographer the sea can be calm and peaceful at one moment or it can rage and intimidate at the next as herman melville once put it there's a magic in the water that draws us away from the land that leads us over hills down creeks and streams and rivers to the sea in this video i'll cover the details of how i approach photographing seascapes from flat sandy beaches to rocky cliffs and from tranquil calm evenings to raging storms [Music] beaches represent so many different opportunities for the landscape photographer sandy beaches tend to lend themselves best to creating calm images using the softer light of sunsets and preferably taking advantage of the retreating tide to photograph clean wet sand that reflects the colours of the sky when photographing sandy beaches i like to keep an eye out for patterns in the sand that catch my eye and in particular i'll keep an eye out for s-curves and lead-in lines frequently you'll find streams that wash out over the sand and these streams will usually form natural s-curves which help to lead the viewer's eye through an image at low tide the retreating sea leaves behind ridges and patterns that you can feature in the foreground i've also frequently used washed up seaweed or driftwood to provide a focal point [Music] the black sand beaches along the southern coast of iceland are particularly popular with landscape photographers especially the famous diamond beach near yoco salon glacier lagoon here the icebergs floating in the lagoon are washed out to sea and then phone back up onto the beach these lumps of ice provide the perfect focal point featuring the foreground of your images [Music] sandy beaches are commonly associated with crashing surf and a composition that i've turned to many times on sandy beach from the sey showers to the outer hebrides is an image of a crashing wave captured at just the right shutter speed to show the movement in the water i usually find that a shutter speed of around half a second normally 0.6 seconds works best for these images patience and persistence is key when taking images like this on this evening at lasken tyre beach on the isle of harris i spent hours taking images of the same scene over and over as the waves kept coming in but the time just seemed to fly by i find the process becomes addictive with the belief that no matter how good the image you just took might be the next wave might just be a little bit better waves normally arrive at the shore in groups of five or six with a lull in between often it's the second or third wave in a set that leads to the best image as it meets the retreating water from the preceding wave use a wide-angle lens and keep your camera low but make sure you keep clear of the water loskantai beach on the isle of harris provides in my opinion the perfect composition for these types of images as there are layers within the composition from the waves in the foreground to the hills on the horizon including layers of depth in your scene is always a good way to go when creating landscape images and when walking along sandy shores i'm often on the lookout of ways to do this whether it's including a headland in the background a sea stack an island or even an iceberg of course behind every good sandy beach lies a good dune system dunes can naturally lend themselves well to photographic compositions and i like to look out for curves in the crests of dunes leading lines and patterns in the sand formed by the wind black and white images of dunes often work well especially if there's an oppressive sky overhead when there's a breeze blowing from arrow grass i also find a longer exposure can create some really interesting effects [Music] when the swell is up the rocky shoreline is probably the best place to be especially if you plan to photograph for waves themselves remember though that these exposed locations can be treacherous also when photographing heavy swells always be aware of rogue waves even when the weather is calm rogue waves can occur at any time i would normally spend a good amount of time when first arriving at a location just observing the waves and seeing how they come the shoreline itself can form interesting shapes and forms that make for good landscape photographs in these areas small inlets work well as waves enter and swirl around creating lovely patterns and shapes again i like to go for around a quarter to a half second exposure for these images one of my favorite subjects to photograph along rocky shores are sea stacks perhaps one of the most famous sea stacks is reiner stranger near vic on the southern shore of iceland these impressive gothic looking sea stacks are certainly well photographed but with good reason as they're extremely photogenic this area is famous for its rip tides the sea here can very quickly sweep you out to sea so don't take any chances wave photography is almost a separate genre in its own right and has been exemplified by photographers such as rachel talabart who have made a speciality out of photographing waves it's certainly one of the most active and exciting forms of landscape photography to really capture the power of a crashing wave you need conditions to be just right and you need to be in the right location keep an eye on weather forecasts and in particular look out for low pressure systems sitting out to sea as these will lead to large swells [Music] as mentioned earlier i do like to use shutter speeds of around a quarter to half a second to create movement in the water these speeds keep some definition in the water adding dynamics to your images longer shutter speeds will create a more ethereal look which can look aesthetic but can also make the scene look a little unrealistic in my opinion to capture the essence of a powerful wave however you normally need to go for a fast shutter speed this can seem contrary to most forms of landscape photography but when capturing waves fast shutter speeds really are key so don't be afraid of increasing the iso on the other hand sometimes a slightly longer exposure can be good for achieving more abstract images so spend some time experimenting and don't be afraid to fill up your memory cards there are certain specific challenges to photographing seascapes but you don't normally need to take into consideration with other forms of landscape photography perhaps the most obvious of these is tides when i'm planning landscape shoots i tend to plan primarily around whether or not to photograph seen at sunrise or sunset with most landscapes it's fairly easy to predict when to go and photograph a scene at the right time of day using apps such as a photo of feminists but with seascapes you also need to take into consideration where the tide will be you might find a particular rock formation that you want to photograph at sunset but depending on the tide you may not be able to access or even see that rock formation make sure that you check for tides when planning your shoots to avoid any disappointment when you arrive at a location when i visited milford sound in new zealand i found myself making this very basic mistake when i first arrived at the scene i had a bit of time before sunset so merrily went around scouting out interesting foregrounds to feature in my photograph once sunset arrived after looking around at various logs i found one log in particular but i decided was going to be my main foreground interest unfortunately fired off this long exposure image as a test shot by the time sunset arrived however i had completely underestimated how fast and how far the tide would come in and the log was completely submerged tides also warrant a particular safety notice as well of course when conditions are good it's easy to get carried away with photography and forget to check what the tide is doing it can be all too easy not to notice that the tide is coming in so make sure that you don't get cut off from the mainland or that your camera ends up in the sea i find that apps designed by the surfing community also work well for photographers as they will aim to tell you what the tides and wave conditions will be like at a certain location probably the best app for predicting coastal conditions is magic seaweed [Music] for most coastal scenes i'll normally opt for wide-angle lens especially if i'm looking to feature foregrounds heavily in my images my 16 to 35 millimeter lens would therefore be my most likely go-to lens for most of these images to achieve good close-up photographs of waves however you want to go for a telephoto lens and anything over 200 millimeters will be ideal i usually have a polarizing filter permanently fitted to my lens when photographing seascapes the only time i would consider not using one is if i'm trying to capture reflections [Music] at other times though it will reduce surface glare helping to bring out the colours and waves and reducing the shine on wet rocks i normally include an nd filter when photographing seascapes unless light levels are low such as during the blue hour when an nd filter may not be needed to achieve longer exposures i probably have to admit at this stage whereas for use for 10 stop nds seems to be particularly popular among photographers when photographing these types of shoreline my own preference is usually to go for a slightly shorter exposure time i find that i tend to use my six stop filter a lot more than my 10 stock this is just a personal preference and my own taste but i do find that the ethereal look of very long exposures lasting minutes rather than seconds can result in some of the drama of the scene being lost for longer exposures you'll need a good sturdy tripod and i also prefer carbon fiber tripods as they're less prone to corrosion i usually shoot with a camera positioned low which emphasizes the foreground and gives a more pleasing perspective for this reason it's best to have a tripod that allows you to spread the legs wider creating a more stable setup i find a remote shutter release essentials but you're not touching or moving your camera when taking images when photographing static scenes a two second delay is often sufficient but when photographing dynamic scenes like you're doing with seascapes it pays to be able to trigger images immediately to capture waves at just the right moment and to do this you really do need a remote shutter release one big thing to be aware of when photographing on the shoreline and certainly not something to take lightly is the toll that these environments can take on your equipment salt and sand do not mix well with camera equipment and it's important to take as much care of your gear as you can on the few occasions when i have had to send my equipment off to be serviced it's always been after a coastal photography shoot all of my main lenses are weather sealed but even in a light breeze sand can easily get into the focus rings and in a strong wind there's even the potential for blowing sand to scratch your front element for this reason coastal photography is an example of an occasion where i personally prefer to keep a uv filter on the front of my lens for protection some photographers feel that this will cause too much detriment to image quality but honestly i barely notice any difference when using a high quality uv filter and with coastal photography the risks of permanent damage to expensive equipment is simply not worth the risk of not using them even the most expensive tripods can quickly start to deteriorate as well if you use them regularly for coastal photography salt can lead to corrosion of any exposed metal screws and fixtures on your tripod and for this reason i prefer tripods with screw leg fixtures rather than clamps as these are easier to take apart and clean after any shoot at the coast i will normally take apart my tripod as soon as i get home and give all the components a good rinse in the shower to remove any salt or sand that may have worked its way into the threads also be aware that sea spray will often leave a salt deposit on your camera and filters so keep some lens cloths handy and clean everything as soon as you can after your shoot despite the challenges they present for landscape photography i find seascapes to be perhaps the most exciting landscapes to photograph no other landscape can be so dynamic and changeable from one moment to the next and seascapes have provided me with some of my most exciting experiences in landscape photography i find that time can quickly flash by without me even noticing when i'm trying to capture the perfect seascape in contrast to mountains which remain constant the seas are ever-changing and constantly providing us with new scenes to capture sometimes these environments can seem too hostile but others there's nowhere more tranquil and the pure variety of what these environments can offer is what makes them one of my favorite subjects to photograph [Music] in my next video in this series i'll be discussing perhaps one of the most frustrating landscapes to try and photograph but also one for most popular as we head to the woodlands [Music] you

Channel: Sam & Hannah Bose Photography

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Keywords: landscape photography, landscape photography tutorial, landscape photography tips, photography tutorial, photography, landscape photography vlog, photography tips, landscape, landscape photography for beginners, landscape photography settings, landscape photography tips techniques, landscape photography tips and techniques, learn landscape photography, landscape photography composition, landscape photographer, landscape photography tutorials for beginners, photography tutorials

Id: ZznwhIufoGI

Length: 15min 0sec (900 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 14 2021