The Amazing Great Ocean Road.

The Great Ocean Road is one of the most stunning coastal drives in the world, offering photographers an abundance of opportunities to capture breathtaking seascapes. I recently had the pleasure of photographing this magnificent coastline, and I’d love to share my experience and some tips on how to capture stunning seascape photos.

Composition is key when it comes to photography, and this is especially true for seascape photography. To create a visually pleasing composition, you’ll want to consider the foreground, middle ground, and background of your image. This will give your photo depth and a sense of scale, making the viewer feel as though they are a part of the scene.

When I was photographing the Great Ocean Road, I found that using a wide-angle lens helped me to capture as much of the landscape as possible. This allowed me to include both the foreground and background in my images, creating a more dynamic composition.

Another tip is to use the rule of thirds to compose your image. This involves dividing your frame into three equal parts both horizontally and vertically, then placing the key elements of your image on the intersecting points. This creates a balanced and visually interesting composition.

One of the challenges of seascape photography is capturing the movement of the water. To achieve this, you can experiment with different shutter speeds. A slower shutter speed will create a sense of movement and allow you to capture the silky texture of the water. On the other hand, a faster shutter speed will freeze the motion of the waves, which can create a more dramatic and dynamic image.

When photographing seascapes, you’ll also want to pay attention to the light. The best times of day to capture stunning seascapes are during sunrise and sunset when the light is soft and golden. This will create a warm, inviting atmosphere in your photos. If you’re shooting during the day, you may want to consider using a polarizing filter to reduce glare and create more contrast in your images.

In conclusion, the Great Ocean Road is a photographer’s paradise, and with the right technique and composition, you can capture stunning seascapes that will take your breath away. Remember to experiment with different shutter speeds, pay attention to the light, and use the rule of thirds to create visually interesting compositions. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be able to capture the beauty of the Great Ocean Road and create images that you’ll treasure for years to come.

 

Darren J

Seascapes on the Great Ocean Road, Aireys Inlet.

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12 Apostles Great Ocean Road Photography.

Hi Friends and followers.

 

Please enjoy this short collection of seascape images from the Great Ocean Road.

 

Darren J.

https://youtu.be/z9s5McjUw6o

Great Ocean Road Seascapes, Slideshow Video.

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Victorian Landscape Photographer.

Hi Friends,
A very unique perspective.
l am always on the lookout for something a little different from the Great Ocean Road. This location is amazing, off the beaten track and standing on a very narrow cliff face (shaking at the knees) whilst composing. The views are nothing more than awesome, with the wild ocean and strong breeze just about blew me over the edge. You really need to brace yourself whilst out at these locations and many times l ask myself ‘what the heck am l doing out here risking my life’ with so much corrosion and sections of the cliffs falling off, but here l am again living and loving what l do.
Salt Water in my Veins.
darrenjbennettphotography.com
Darren J.

migg

12 Apostles lovely sunset.

Hi Friends,

It’s been a while since my last post, with Christmas and the New Year things have been quite hectic for us all l imagine. Hope you all enjoyed the festive season and hopefully we can get back to travelling and doing lots of photography.

Last weekend was my first visit back to the Great Ocean Road in 3 weeks. Stormy weather was predicted, along with lots of rain, which l encountered along the way as the storm rolled in whilst l made my way to Port Campbell. The rain continued through most of the evening, but fortunately there was a small break in the clouds near the horizon which was enough to allow the beautiful sunlight to burst through and light up the cliffs and rock stacks, it was lovely to watch it unfold, than after the sun disappeared below the horizon we were left with a small burst of colour to finish of the sunset shoot.

The conditions were made for photography and l was grateful for a colourful sunset. Below are a few images from my latest shoot.

Darren J.



Great Ocean Road.

Great Ocean Road.

 

 

 

 

 

Gibsons Beach, Fine Art Prints.

If you are interested in Purchasing my fine art prints, head over to my website.

Darren J.

Great Ocean Road Photography.

Such a beautiful sight watching the morning sunlight kiss the rock stacks at the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.
Views such as these are not easy to find. Being there is the key. This golden light will show itself after sunrise, thats when the sun will cast its beautiful rays of sunlight across the landscape exposing all in its path and bathing them in all its glory, also having a nice sky as a backdrop will help illumninate the golden colours. Changing your composition to make use of the light and the angle of view. But, most of all get out of your comfort zone and chase the light.
Darren J

Get to know your seascapes

These examples show what can be achieved through getting to know your subject matter, which means getting to your location early, scouting around the area you intent to photograph and pre-visualizing what type of effect the water will have when conditions and tide flow change.

I arrived at this location a few hours before sunset, knowing that high tide will start coming in around sunset, l killed some time scouting around and looking for subject matter that had potential to create strong visual elements once hide tide was in.

Bearing in mind that this particular location was very flat in appearance (no huge rock stacks to play with) it was important to create dynamic foreground interest through water motion.

The example below attracted my eye with it’s strong lines and shapes,  l had already pre-visualized the type of image and look l was after, than waited for the tide to come in.

Darren J.

tut1

Once you have the water motion, than start playing around with your shutter speeds to help emphasise subtle variations in motion. For this particular scene l wanted to achieve more of a streaky kind of motion, using speeds of around 1 to 2 seconds, whilst keeping the cascading water effect over the central rock.

tut4If my shutter speed had been longer it would have created a more ‘milky look’. Move around the scene trying all sorts of different compositions, until you find the strongest dynamics and best visual impact within the frame. With hide tide coming in it’s important to step back and assess the dangers.

Quite often rogue waves can catch you of guard, causing lots of damage to your gear and making it a very dangerous situation for the photographer. In most cases the surface of the rocks will be slimy and very, very slippery, so if you have to back track in a hurry, always take care.

tut2With the water cascading in and out of the giant pot holes, your bound to end up with sea spray continuously hitting you and your camera, be sure to carry a cotton t-shirt to wipe down your camera and filters, make your way to and from the area capturing images then going back to wipe your gear.

To capture this kind of seascape requires lots of water action and that means getting in close. l am often asked how l deal with looking after my gear shooting in these trying conditions, to which l answer ‘l don’t’. If you plan to be serious with your seascapes, your camera gear will suffer considerably, no matter how well you maintain it, if your gear is in good condition than your not getting the shots and your not close enough.

Darren J

tut3

 

Aireys Inlet

The images below were taken at Aireys Inlet yesterday, with stormy weather and rain predicted, l decided it was a great opportunity to be out photographing, with bucket loads of rain falling on my way there, l was hoping the skies would clear in time for sunset, but alas is was not a great sunset for colour. The images l captured lend themselves to more of a monochrome finish.
The highlight of the evening for me was seeing a juvenile fur seal, lying at the base of Eagle Rock, in all the years l have been photographing along the Great Ocean Road, l have never caught site of a seal. Has anyone else ever seen a seal along the Great Ocean Road?BTW, if you are interested in Learning the art of ‘Photographing Seascapes’, l run private workshops and group workshops at Aireys Inlet and Port Campbell, message me if you are interested.

Darren J.

eagle rock, great ocean road, aireys inlet, victoria

private dancer, aireys inlet, great ocean road, victoria,