[frogoutofwater]

These are lovely. I will practise on my upcoming trip to Puerto Vallarta and then put the tips to full use on a trip to Iceland scheduled for mid-summer.

[desertscape]

Seascapes are my favorite subject to shoot, although I do not shoot temperate climate seascapes, I thought I'd share a southern hemisphere tropical version. Pentax 6x7, Velvia 50, 45mm lens at f/22, partially polarized, Plustek 120/Silverfast low rez scan. Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific.

[clackers]

Great tips, Mike! And getting close as you do you understand why rock fishing is one of the most dangerous past times.

[mattb123]

Great tips Mike, thanks! Makes a lot of sense. I'll give it a try in Kauai next month.

[mikeSF]

Seascapes are my favorite subject to shoot, although I do not shoot temperate climate seascapes, I thought I'd share a southern hemisphere tropical version. Pentax 6x7, Velvia 50, 45mm lens at f/22, partially polarized, Plustek 120/Silverfast low rez scan. Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific.

what a lovely scene, desertscape! Makes me want to hop on a plane.

---------- Post added 01-14-2015 at 04:29 PM ----------

Great tips Mike, thanks! Makes a lot of sense. I'll give it a try in Kauai next month.

Nice Matt, and if you need me to come along to Kauai, just say so, bro.

---------- Post added 01-14-2015 at 04:48 PM ----------

Great tips, Mike! And getting close as you do you understand why rock fishing is one of the most dangerous past times.

absolutely. I am a strong swimmer, but getting picked up and dashed onto rocks has little to do with swimming and can really put things into perspective. Fortunately, the day it happened to me, i just happened to have all my gear in a pelican-type case and it survived. I raised my tripod(with K5) as high out of the water as i could while being pulled out by a wave and another fellow ran over and held the camera end of my tripod until i could get up between crashes. Amazingly the camera survived and i was licking my wounds for a week after.

---------- Post added 01-14-2015 at 04:50 PM ----------

These are lovely. I will practise on my upcoming trip to Puerto Vallarta and then put the tips to full use on a trip to Iceland scheduled for mid-summer.

wonderful. be sure to post some of those pics when you get 'em. Add 'em here or put a link in here so we can see how it worked for you.

---------- Post added 01-14-2015 at 04:50 PM ----------

Mike, These tips are much appreciated. Thank you for sharing your experience and your lovely photos. I could sit staring at those on the wall all day long.

that's nice of you!

[desertscape]

what a lovely scene, desertscape! Makes me want to hop on a plane.

Thanks Mike; I have made numerous trips to the So Pacific in the past 25 years, so if you need any destination ideas, let me know.

[mikeSF]

just bumping the thread to add another example of receding water as it cascades from the edge of a rock. As you observe your scene for interesting elements, look for any areas where these mini waterfalls may occur, then wait for a big wave to deliver plenty of water for the runoff.

Four Mile Beach

I originally composed this shot much tighter to place the cascade in the immediate foreground, but later liked the look of the wider test shot that included a rolling swell breaking down front.

[mattb123]

Awesome Mike, you are making me excited to go to the ocean!

[mikeSF]

Awesome Mike, you are making me excited to go to the ocean!

cool man!

[mikeSF]

just a bump with a pic from last night at a little surfing beach in San Mateo county.

Blue Hour

again, i opened the shutter as the wave was rolling back out in order to get the stripes in the foreground. When waves and loose rocks are hitting your tripod during a long exposure, you could get motion blur. I like to jam the tripod legs deep in the sand while the wave is in and the saturated sand is loose, then when the wave rolls out, the tripod stays put. For beach shooting, i extend the end leg sections first (contrary to usual tripod theory), because i do not want my leg clamps to be buried in sand or they could seize. see what works for you.

[mikeSF]

here's another:

Rock #18

[magkelly]

Are your techniques any different when you are not going for the water blur effect? Just curious. That effect is not one I like myself. I like the water to look real and to me that long exposure thing just makes it look too misty. What do you do if you want the water to look less romantic and more realistic? Anything different besides shutter speed? Thanks!

[mikeSF]

Are your techniques any different when you are not going for the water blur effect? Just curious. That effect is not one I like myself. I like the water to look real and to me that long exposure thing just makes it look too misty. What do you do if you want the water to look less romantic and more realistic? Anything different besides shutter speed? Thanks!

sure, you would simply use a faster shutter, but it must be fast enough to stop the water almost completely or will look like blurry frozen water, lol.

In the case of the above photo, you would not likely be able to get that, as it was half an hour+ after sunset and i had already cranked my ISO to 640 to maintain approx 1/2sec short blur.
However, earlier in the day it would be easy, but then you sacrifice the great twilight colors.

I do shoot both routinely, but definitely favor the look of moving water for my seascapes due to the implied motion they impart.



Here is one, this time with plenty of daylight to get a 1/500th sec. shutter. This was also about 5 minutes before i fell off a ledge and broke a toe, lol.

[hoopsontoast]

I like getting brave and playing chicken with the sea....

(K-01 and DA14)

[mikeSF]

I like getting brave and playing chicken with the sea....

(K-01 and DA14)

love the edge with the foam. be careful out there!