Photography at sea

The other day I said that I would be posting some of the pictures from my time aboard my boat.
Well, this one captures one of those very special moments when the light is just mind-blowing. I was sailing up Loch Striven in Scotland when the skies went almost jet black as a squall came in. Then, suddenly, the cloud parted just wide enough to allow a beam of sun to spotlight the side of the hil and that lonely cottage down on the shore.

Oh, just in case my friend Alwyn, who suggested last time I posted a picture of this sort that I'd got at it a bit with Photoshop, no Alwyn, this is as nature produced it. In fact, Alwyn had a point last time, I had just tweaked the image a little, but not his time.

It is vital not to underexpose in these conditions. Expose for those highlights and let the rest go almost black if it wants too that brings out the drama. That's what the picture is all about.

The pilot book decsribes this Scottish loch as 'bleak and featureless', but I have to disagree when the light plays tricks like this. Daunting, awesome and threatening, maybe, but featureless, no.

One of the downsides of taking photographs of seascapes and landscapes from a boat is that the images can often take on a two-dimensional, flat aspect because of the lack of foreground interest. In some respects, this picture has to be described as lacking depth, but the drama of that light makes up for that in my opinion.

This picture will be one of a series that will illustrate a feature I have written for a yachting Magazine called Sailing Today I actually began the magazine myself some years ago and became its founding editor. I still write and photograph regular features for it when I have time.

Photographing shadows and highlights

Photograph by Peter Frisby

I've had a great couple of days here in SW Scotland with Peter Frisby from Staffordshire. Peter came to me for some one-to-one tuition. The weather was beautiful and I took him to my favourite hidden cove down on the sea shore on the first day. The light was really spectacular with a pastel blue sky and lots of dramatic clouds. Absolutely ideal for landscape and seascape photography.

Despite the fact that Peter has been taking photographs for only a very short time, he has done a great deal of reading on the subject, so he had a reasonable grasp of the fundaments of exposure.

One of the things that was confusing him was the situation in which a landscape might have a foreground in shadow and a background brightly lit. I explained that there were several methods of dealing with this very common and quite difficult situation. The photographer is faced with a choice of (A) exposing for the shaded area - so allowing the bright background to become over-exposed and 'burnt-out'. This always looks dreadful. (B) Exposing for the brighter area of the picture and allowing the shaded area to go dark. (C) Compromise and interpolate the exposure between the two extremes - rarely very successful. Most frequently (B) is the best.

In the real world, you have several options open to you to combat the problem.

1 - Use a gradual grey filter to darken the bright background in the upper section of the picture.

2 - Put the camera on a tripod and take two shots from precisely the same angle. One exposing for the shadows and one exposing for the highlights. These can then easily be put together in Photoshop using the Layers Mask. This is a highly effective and probably the best way of doing the job.

3 - Expose for the highlights and - if the foreground is not totally black - subtley lift some detail back into this area using Photoshop's Dodge Tool facility. I work on the principle that an under-exposed area of an image can be lightened to reveal detail, while an overexposed, burnt-out, area is just about hopeless.

Peter has not yet got to grips with Photoshop, so when he spotted the photographed the scene above, we had an ideal oportunity to demonstrate option 3. He exposed for the brightly lit far distance, and allowed the foreground to go dark. Once opened in Photoshop when we got back to base, we simply selected the 'Dodge' tool with a large brush at about 8% transparency to lighten the highlights. Several passes were made over the foreground to achieve the results shown. I don't have Peter's original to show you, but I can assue you that foreground really was very dark indeed.

Now just in case you are tempted to get all 'precious' and sniffy about 'manipulating' an image in this way, just remember that those icons for the 'Burn' and the 'Dodge' tool come straight from the darkroom. The 'Dodge' icon represents the bit of round card we used to cut out and stick to a short length of stiff wire. Photographic printers would jiggle this 'dodger' about over over a dark area of the print during exposure in the enlarger. The effect was to lighten that area. The 'Burn' icon is a representation of the printer's hand making a hole through which he would direct extra light to a particlular portion of the print in order to darken it. So, you see - there's nothing new about Photoshop - the Victorians were using the same ideas over 100 years ago.



Peter (that's him above at work in Kirkcudbright Harbour) was using an Olympus E-510 and I have to say I was very taken by it. It handles very well indeed and I was impressed by the results. Peter's shot of the shells (below) is needle sharp.

Photographing seascape and coast - Part 2

With all that reflected light off the sea, sand and sky, the exposure meter in your camera can be fooled into thinking the scene is brighter than it actually is – and this can lead to under exposure – dull images. Provided you are aware of this, it should not present a problem. You can easily compensate for it. If you are using the ‘M’ (Manual) mode, just over expose by at least ½ an f-stop. If you are using one of the automatic exposure settings – Aperture or Shutter Priority for instance – you can use the Exposure Compensation facility to over expose.

Setting the Exposure Compensation to plus +½ or 0.5 of an f stop.

There are countless different subjects on the coast, so learn to be ‘visually agile’ - keep your eyes open all the time so that you spot pictures everywhere. Look for colour blends and contrasts; shapes and textures. The beautiful, soft, high quality sidelight has added shape and form in the picture of the the rocks and pebbles.

Fascinating close-ups are all around you on the sea shore. Here I’ve photographed the rusting ironwork of an old jetty. Don’t always try to complicate these shots by looking at the surface at an oblique angle. This often confuses the image and detracts from the visual interest of the subject’s texture and colour. Try shooting at rightangles to the subject’s surface – and you won’t have to worry too much about depth of field if you do. Keep it simple and you will raise the impact level of your close-ups. This picture relies on the colour and texture of the subject for its appeal. Make sure you get your close-ups absolutely pin sharp – people will peer more closely at a close-up and expect to see all the fine detail.

Photographing seascape and coast - Part 1

Coastal scenery offers unique challenges to the photographer simply because it seems able to perform visual somersaults every few minutes. Partly, of course, this is due to the rise and fall of the tide which can transform a view of rolling breakers into a scene of mud, sand and rock pools within minutes. And of course, there's the ever changing light...

Backlight over a dimpled shiny surface, like these wet rocks (picture above), can create wonderful results just bursting with atmosphere. Again, timing is critical for success. Take several shots to ensure you capture the spray when it is in mid air. There is often a moment when it is almost suspended – that’s the moment to press the shutter button

As with all landscape photography one of the prime considerations is the direction and quality of the light, and the quality of the light along our coast can be spectacular. Sea and sand reflect the light, softening and putting detail into the shadows. I’m lucky enough to live in Galloway on the west coast of Scotland, and as I prefer to have the sun low over the sea and not over the land when I’m taking photographs of the shore, this means I don’t need to get up at dawn to take pictures of some of the coves and inlets along this beautiful coast. I can delay my assignments until later in the day and shoot into the low afternoon sun, or work even later as it sets into the sea.

TIPS
1 - Check the tide times before you go – do not get trapped by a rising tide.

2 - Time your photo shoot to have the sun low over the sea.

3 - Check the weather forecast before setting out – there are often clear, blustery skies following a cold front - ideal for dramatic sea and sky pictures.

4 - Take a good look at the scene and try to form a rough plan of action. Try to walk across the beach along the edge of the surf if possible. That way you won’t spoil pristine sand with your own footprints.

5 - Keep lens changes to an absolute minimum when working on the sea shore. Don’t change lenses in wind and spray.

6 - Always use a UV or Skylight filter to protect your lens from sand and spray. Keep plenty of lens tissues handy.

7 - Anticipate cloud movements. Have your image framed in the viewfinder and be ready for the moment the sun breaks through.

8 - Wellie boots are far more useful than walking boots – you can get right into the water

9 - Try to capture splashing waves just before they start to fall back into the water – they will be almost suspended in mid-air for a fraction of a second.

Don’t restrict yourself to landscape format. Think vertically for extra impact and crop in closely. This shot was taken with a wide angle lens – remember, your wide angle lens is not just ‘to get more in’. It can be used as a compositional device to accentuate an illusion of perspective and create a feeling of distance within the shot. You must not overexpose photographs like this when shooting almost straight into the light. Let the blacks go black to increase the contrast and add drama. Over exposure will lead to bland, flat uninteresting images

Next, in Part 2. Getting the exposure right

Can I use a compact digital camera for landscape photography?

Michael Groom came up to Scotland from London for a day's tuition last week. He was determined to use his little Sony compact camera as he had no intentions of carrying a lot of kit around with him. Is it possible to get great landscape and seascape pictures with such simple kit? he asked.

Yes it is. In fact, my last exhibition was a series of landscape and people pictures taken entirely on my little Canon Ixus. Below is a short video of Michael at work - braving the elements on the Galloway coast. Take a look at the final shot (it's also shown here on the left) taken on a compact camera. I know that that image can be printed 20"x16" quite comfortably. Notice the beautiful light and that the timing has caught the waves just as they splash the rocks.

Remember - you must keep the ISO down to the slowest possible speed for the best quality. You must have a sound understanding of light, and your timing has to be spot on to capture waves like this.

I'll give you a few tips on how to do that very soon if you wish.

Meanwhile, I would be interested to know what you need most help with and what you would like to hear about.

Philip Dunn

http://www.photoactive.co.uk/