Visual Diary #4 - Seascapes
Explore Landscapes #55: I need to spend more time on the coast taking photographs, as I always enjoy it when I do. But the desert. The desert always seems to call my name and get my attention.
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For someone who’s lived just 15 miles away from the Pacific Coast for the last ten years, I have surprisingly few images of seascapes. I need to spend more time on the coast taking photographs, as I always enjoy it when I do. But the desert. The desert always seems to call my name and get my attention.
The only photography workshop I attended as a student was back in 2011 when I participated in a seascape/landscape photography workshop on the south coast of the UK in Dorset. The workshop was led by a fantastic photographer, Helen Rushton (read more below):
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When I first visited the US for work, I always stayed in Huntington Beach and spent many happy hours walking up and down the beach looking for images. I was so surprised to see oil rigs just a short distance offshore. It was also the first time that I’d seen the nodding-donkey oil pumps dotted along the coast.
I have to confess to spending hours underneath various piers in different locations in the US (and elsewhere) trying to catch the light and the waves just right. The photo above is probably one of my favorites.
And where there are waves, there are plenty of opportunities to use ND (Neutral Density) filters to slow down your shutter speed, smooth out the waves, and give your images a more painterly feel.
The beaches of Sylt (an island off the North Sea coast of Germany) were perfect for this type of photography. We holidayed on Sylt several times while we lived in Hamburg.
Another seascape that I have visited regularly is Montauk Point, NY. This is at the very East end of Long Island and looks out across the North Atlantic Ocean. Early twilight and sunrise at Montauk Point are beautiful in the summer, but I imagine it’s not so warm and inviting during the winter.
There are some great coastal walks in Orange County, and we’ve visited San Clemente and Dana Point frequently, but I rarely take my camera. When I take my camera, I’m seldom disappointed. I seem to have a blind spot with the coast and photography. I don’t know why.
I need to start a project (at least one) that involves photographing the coast on my doorstep. Maybe this will be my way of breaking the cycle and not always driving ‘inland towards the desert’ whenever I leave home.
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Here are a few of my posts that you might be interested in reading:
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Issue # 76 The Misc Adventures Digest by Miscellaneous Adventures
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The Sunday interview: 5 questions for Jon Norris by PerfectLight
The Honduras Mission, Part II by Erik Hogan
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Humanity by Jen Hitze
Photography is Exploration by Bryan Hansel
Paddling Lewey Lake to Miami River in the Adirondacks by Jenn Woltjen
The art of noticing by Gill Moon Photography
Start Saying "Not My Business" by Seth Werkheiser
Nice to see my home stretch or coast (Dorset) be featured here. I shot there with my brother who loves landscapes a bunch of times. Beautiful spot and well done on the capture.
Lovely images Jon. I especially like the pier shot and the soft tones and colours in the San Clemente image. I think projects are a great way to get re inspired and the coast offers such a lot of variety for this.
Thank you for mentioning my blog - it's much appreciated. 🙂