Get to know your seascapes

December 2, 2020

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.

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.

If 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.

With 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

Get to know your seascapes

July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

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

North Coast, Taiwan.

May 27, 2013

This image was taken in Taiwan, along the wild North Coast, which is famous for amazing geological rock formations.
I have never felt as vulnerable to the ocean as what l have here. The swell and rise of the tide was somewhat overwhelming, but always exhilarating.

I had stayed a few nights in Keelung, which is one of Taiwan’s major shipping ports and only about 45 minute drive from Taipei City, l hired a scooter and hit the coastline. Only downfall was that it is rainy season at this time of year. Still managed to come home with a few keepers.

With the ocean to my left side and beautiful mountain scenery to my right, cruising on the little scooter was fantastic. What l really love about photography is taking time to explore the regions l photograph, making sure to take in as much as l can.

Darren J.

Danshui ‘Freshwater’ City.

October 26, 2011March 9, 2013

Whilst in Taiwan, it was mentioned to me that the city of Danshui was very popular for shooting sunsets. Taking into account a typhoon had recently passed through Taiwan, I was keen to be out photographing, capturing the after-effects from the typhoon. Danshui was the centre for shipping and commerce in the 19th century; now it’s more popular for viewing sunsets into the Taiwan Strait. It is named after a river whose name means ‘Freshwater’, offering both river and mountain views.

I caught the train from Taipei main station directly to Danshui, which takes approximately 45 minutes. The MRT(Municipal Rapid Transport) system is clean (due to not being able to eat, drink or chew whilst on the train), quiet and relatively fast – I was really impressed and enjoyed using the metro rail system.

A storm was brewing upon my arrival into Danshui, heavy clouds filled the sky and it was evident rain was not too far away. After 30 minutes of one of the heaviest downpours I have ever witnessed, the clouds began to break and brief glimpses of sunshine where seen throughout the day.

After spending the rest of the day visiting the shops and traditional Taiwanese stalls, I made my way over to the Danshui River to find a good location to shoot. Here you can see the the great views and catch the ferry boat to the Fisherman’s Wharf or Bali Village, famous locations when you visit Danshui.

And did I mention famous for photographing sunsets? Photographers everywhere. Standing room only – well that was until the rain started to fall again, this downpour only lasted 20 minutes and was nowhere near as heavy as the rain that had fallen earlier in the day.

Once the rain had passed, I was the only photographer to be seen. The clouds were providing some great mood and the light was ambient and deep blue, illuminating the scene before me.

I fired off a few 30-second exposures that captured the movement of the clouds and the ambient light filtering through, lucky enough to have the ferry boat cruise through at that moment to create movement and blur in the foreground.
I kept photographing the scene for another 30 minutes before heading over to shoot the Red Castle, which is over near Danshui Old Street, with its beautiful architecture and background of famous landmarks which include the Guan-yin Mountain and Danshui River.

Darren J.

The all conquering Ocean, part 2.

October 16, 2011March 9, 2013

Although I was still armed with my back-up camera, I thought it was best to make my way back to Taipei and have Canon assess the damage; if they were able to bring the camera back to life, that meant leaving the camera with the technician for a few days.

In the meantime I managed to track down a 5D mkII from a hire shop in Taipei. Considering I was heading to China in 2 days, I thought it best to take the hire camera with me for the couple of weeks I was going to stay there.

Luckily I managed to keep the hire camera out of any deep water whilst in China. Canon had my camera fixed and ready for pick-up upon my return to Taipei – the bill for the repairs was quite substantial, costing over $1300.00 Australian. But I must say the camera is in better condition than when I first bought it.

My 16-35mm camera lens remarkably survived the accident, minus the auto focus and a nice grinding noise whilst zooming. The lens was only 3 months old, replacing another, due to a fall I had taken whilst photographing at the Great Ocean Road. I had slipped and my shoulder and face hit the deck (green algae and slippery rocks), camera and lens also hitting the deck – the lens snapped clean off the camera leaving the bayonet mount inside the camera. I lay on the rocks watching the sea water swallow the lens, the camera body sustained two large cracks but kept working.

I’ve had my fair share of slips and falls over the years, proving to be very costly indeed. Luckily I have avoided any serious physical damage upon myself, could have been a whole lot worse.

Best thing is to take care whilst out there, never think you’re invincible and that it won’t happen to you. The ocean is a force to be reckoned with; always watch your step and keep an eye on the incoming waves and tide, be cautious at all times.

Darren J.

The all conquering Ocean

October 11, 2011February 27, 2012

I recently returned home to Australia after spending 4 weeks in Asia – two weeks in Taiwan and another 2 weeks in Guilin, China. My first stop was Taiwan, the first week was spent in Taipei, catching up with my partner’s family and friends.

I was eager to make my way over to the North-East coast of Taiwan, the city of Keelung, where the coastline is rugged and menacing due to the many Typhoons and strong winds around the region (a typhoon was making it’s way through the South of Taiwan whilst we were in Taipei). The rock formations are quite amazing and the swells are mind-blowing, I was in total awe of the prospects for great seascape photography.

Upon our arrival in Keelung I hired a motorbike and hit the coastline, scouting for some destinations to shoot. Unfortunately, the weather and conditions were not in my favour, with lots of haze and very little cloud form to create mood. My third sunrise shoot was looking really good with nice cloud cover and soft morning light, creating soft hues with the high tide on its way in.

I planted my tripod heavily in the sand, a tiny black and grey variety which took a brilliant-looking sheen when wet. The waves started coming in a little stronger at that moment so I decided to take a couple of steps backward and tripped over a rock that happened to be at the base of my feet behind me, toppled over with tripod and camera in tow and a wave following, engulfing me and camera.

The next thing I knew I was desperately dragging myself and camera up from beneath the surface of the water; I was in shock, realising what had just happened. The shutter was still firing away as I must have tripped it on whilst falling. The rest of the morning was spent in a daze as I tried to console myself, for I still had 3 weeks of travel ahead of me without my canon 5d mkII.

Two images posted from the morning shoot, one had been taken whilst the camera was under water and one image taken before the accident. I will continue with the saga and rest of my travels shortly.

Darren J.

I'm into you, north east coast, coastal region, keelung, taiwan — Coastal region, Keelung, Taiwan