Beach – Page 3 – Dave Wares

Alignment

Dec 30, 2015 Dave Wares

‘Alignment’

My second post from Bexhill beach.

The thing that initially drew me to this composition was the arrangement of the rocks in the water but when I looked at the sky, that too seemed to almost mimic the shape below.

I usually like to get down low for my shots but for this one, I moved my tripod right into the water so that just the head and camera could be seen above the water line. It was only a shallow pool however, so easy for me to stand in with my wellies on. Alas, the water did pour over the top of my right boot near the end of the shoot though!

A pair of chest waders will be my next photographic purchase.

To achieve this shot and to get the smooth appearance on the water, I used my new ND8 filter coupled with an ND4 graduated filter to help balance the land and sky.

I do love how the smooth appearance on the water helps to give a sense of calm.

Blog, Landscapes

Soft start

Dec 29, 2015 Dave Wares

‘Soft start’

Looking out across the English Channel from Bexhill.

A fantastic array of rocks is revealed when the tide is out, giving many different options for composition.

The perfect excuse to go back time and time again.

Still waiting to get my perfect shot form here though.

One day.

Blog, Landscapes

All that glisters

Nov 25, 2015Dec 23, 2015 Dave Wares

‘All that glisters’

“All that glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life has sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold
Had you been as wise as bold,
Your in limbs, in judgment old,
Your answer had not been in’scroll’d
Fare you well: your suit is cold.’ Cold, indeed, and labour lost: Then, farewell, heat and welcome, frost!”

― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Blog, Landscapes, Mono

Bicyclette

Nov 2, 2015Dec 23, 2015 Dave Wares

‘Bicyclette’

Spotted this cyclist racing along the sands while walking along the promenade at Wimareaux.

Although the afternoon was relatively bright, the wind was biting.

Perfect for all you sporting types, especially the windsurfers.

I zipped up my coat.

Blog, Events, Landscapes

Journeyman

Oct 7, 2015Dec 23, 2015 Dave Wares

‘Journeyman’

ND4 grad filter, processed in Lightroom 5.7

So, a little while back I received an e-mail out of the blue from a chap named Tim Andrews. Having found me through Twitter and liking what he saw, he went on to tell me about his project “Over the Hill” and asked if I’d be interested in taking his picture. Tim was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a few years back and as a result took early retirement, he has since embarked on this rather fascinating artistic endeavour of being photographed by numerous people as his Parkinson’s progresses. But, rather than me doing a bad job of telling his story here, I encourage you to follow the link above to read all about it.

As I write this, Tim has now been photographed by over 360 photographers. I am number 366.

After reading about this project and seeing such great images on his blog, I just knew I wanted to be involved. We agreed on a time and place and kept my fingers crossed for some good weather on the day.

The weather turned out to be fabulous and I had purposely chosen the date to co-inside with a low tide. In fact the weather was a bit too good and there was barely a cloud to be seen. Boring blue I thought. Had I been photographing by myself I don’t think I would’ve come away with shots half as good as I did. On this occasion having Tim there as a subject really added a much needed interest to the pictures, changing the dynamics totally.

I had various ideas for posing Tim leading up to the shoot and the shot above, which Tim finally chose as his fave, was the first to be tried. I provided the case as a prop with the idea of having someone looking out to sea, contemplating life, both past and present. Tim got this totally and was pretty much his main reason for choosing it to become part of his project.

Other ideas included using a flash umbrella as a visual prop, with the flash being taped up inside to illuminate him in an unusual way. Also we tried some shots of Tim dancing and jumping (both Tim’s suggestions) as the sun went down. I was pretty happy with the majority of shots but I narrowed it down to a final seven before sending them to Tim to make the final choice.

You can read Tim’s fantastic blog about our day here.

I have also put up a page here showcasing all of the images I sent Tim to choose from.

After a really enjoyable shoot we headed off to a local pub for a well deserved beer and some food.

I’m so happy Tim asked me to become part of his journey, it was a very memorable day.

Thanks Tim!

Blog, Landscapes, Tips

Flow (plus Cokin Z Pro update)

Jan 13, 2015Dec 23, 2015 Dave Wares

Another of my unaffected shots from Sunday’s shoot.

Cokin ND8 Grad, processed in Lightroom 5.7.

Cokin reflection issue update (see last post)

So I took both adapter rings into work with the intention of sanding off the fronts when my friend Rob had the great idea of using acetone to remove the lettering. A quick rub with neat acetone and hey presto, the lettering is gone.

Now obviously not everyone will have acetone to hand but I reckon nail polish remover will do the same job, as it contains acetone. You’ll probably just need to use a little more elbow grease. This doesn’t get rid of the fact that they have been finished in shiny black but my main issue was with the lettering. Like I said in my previous post, the problem only occurs when the light shines directly in front of the lens but if I see the rim of the adapter showing in the future I’ll go down the route of applying some matte black paint to the inner edge.

I should also point out that at the time I experienced this issue I was using a 10-20mm super wide angle lens, set at 10mm. It might not be such an issue when using lenses without such a wide angle of view. More testing needs to be done though to analyse this.

Thanks for reading.