Sandblasted!
SANDBLASTED!
Beach Photography
Shark's Teeth at Sunset - 2 secs @ f/11 - ISO 100
The beach. A place where calmness strolls hand in hand with tranquillity for a leisurely exercise in relaxation. Unless you're carrying around a bag of delicate glass and sensitive electronics whilst the wind is pelting you with miniature rocks covered in salt water. In which case, it's a bloody nightmare.
Reflected Glory - Sunset at Shoreham - 1 sec @ f/8 - ISO 100
The high altitude clouds, strong winds and a clear horizon to the west set up perfectly for a scintillating sunset. The wet sand reflecting the colours all around the sea defences gave the whole image some fantastic contrast.
Whenever my ship spends an evening sheltering from high winds or rough seas, I try use the opportunity for some photography. Whether I'm taking timelapses from the deck or getting down to the beach at Shoreham-by-Sea, the coastline will always provide something to photograph.
Sands of Time - 1.6 sec @ f/8 - ISO 800
Originally taken as a very large panorama and then cropped in because it was all just a bit vast and unnecessary...
Straight across the road from the ship's berth are a series of coastal erosion defences comprised of concrete and timber groynes leading out into the sea. They're pretty much the focus of everything that I photograph along this stretch of beach, taking the forms of leading lines and focal points and foreground interest against ethereal waves or harlequin skies.
Lines in the Sand - 1.6 sec @ f/11 - ISO 100
The overgrown timbers amongst the pebbles connected by the rivulets running through the sand. Even at 14mm I had my camera just a couple of centimetres away from the foreground pebble to try and squeeze the composition together.
But whilst the furnishings provide the much needed compositional elements in the scene, the true star of the show is always the astonishing lighting conditions that occur on the coast. Every time that I've been back to the same spot I've been able to take an entirely different type of shot. The conditions are so variable around the more static features that there's always something new to shoot for whether that be a vivid sunset or moody, melancholic clouds.
Battered! 1/4 sec @ f/8 - ISO 100
Taken as I was being absolutely pelted with high speed sand and sea spray. I slowed down the shutter speed to 1/4 to give the sea a tempestuous but uncluttered look. The sky managed to break out some colours as my poor filter set and lens took a horrific beating from the 30 mph grit-laden winds.
The problem with all of this is that the beach is quite a determined foe in the war against camera equipment. Projectile sand scratching my glass filters and jamming my polarising circular filter onto its mount where it will now simply have to live for the rest of its useful life...But what is gear for if not to be used and abused?
Screaming Sunsets of Shoreham - 11 shot Panorama