Searching for a Composition at Burns Beach

We said goodbye to winter over six weeks ago, but we haven’t yet had a day over 25…until today! We had storm the previous few days and another forecast for the next day so I had to grab my chance  now. I headed down to my favourite local beach called Burns Beach and explored a rocks (and seaweed) for an interesting composition.

I’d arrived way before the sun was to set so I had plenty of time to explore and setup. This is an important tip for landscape photography, give yourself plenty of time so you don’t feel rushed. Time wasn’t the issue, finding a clean area of the beach with an engaging composition was a challenge. I persisted and finally discovered a small pool of water leading the eye out to the ocean.

The clouds were providing a thin layer of the ocean but luckily there was going to be a small opportunity for the sunlight to break through and light up the clouds moments before the sun was to set.

With camera poised, filters mounted (0.9 Hard ND Grad) and settings configured, I waited for just the right moment to hit the trigger. The first image I took captured the clouds flooded in glorious warm light. The second image I took was a little more challenging are the sun dipped behind the clouds quickly and left a clouds and foreground dark with a bright layer of sky splitting the two. The only way forward was to take off the 0.9 grad and take multiple exposures and then merge them in Photoshop.

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