Clouds really lift landscape photography.
They add drama, change the light and sometimes frame a key element.
The clouds at Snapper Rocks formed the perfect window of sunlight………
After a marathon fashion shoot, an extended hike with my son’s scout troop, a relaxing walk along the beach with a camera in hand was in order.
Snapper Rocks has changed so much since the big storms earlier this year, so it’s like finding a new location every time I visit.
This morning the surf was pounding in, and there was a wonderful contrasting sky…….
Whoops….Sunrise is at 6.00am not 5.00am, and yes I found myself standing near a small lighthouse, freezing cold getting covered in salt spray.
Three pics later I had enough of that location.
The clouds weren’t co-operating, it was too windy and the sky stayed grey.
As I neared home, I noticed that Burleigh Heads was sheltering a small rock pool and the sun was partly hidden by cloud.
Knee deep in still clear water, I was lucky to at least capture a seagull sunrise…..
I have taken a lot of seascape lately, it has given me the chance to separate myself from portraiture and fashion, a bit of a holiday, a chance to refocus (bad pun I know).
I have had an epiphany moment and gained new vigour in deciding, not only where I want to go photography wise, but also how to get there.
It was a little like the feeling I got when taking this shot, thinking of the setting to use, I took my eyes off the sea and suddenly got hit by a rogue wave.
The camera escaped with just a few splashes, but I got the whole lot and I realised right there why,
I was shooting in facing north, not south that when I realised I need to find a new direction…………
I have during the course of taking seascapes, been caught by the occasional rogue wave.
It usually means that I go home with drenched shoes, jeans and lens filters covered in salt spray.
Nothing to really worry about, a quick clean of the filters and camera, hose the tripod off and cover it in WD-40, and put the shoes in the sun.
However the fisherman in this image will think about location and tides a little more before he next casts a hook.
PS he was knocked over by this wave, he got up only to be knocked over twice more…then he packed up and left!!