Photographing Seascapes
Ashok Kandimalla walks you through the processes and techniques
Ashok Kandimalla has been in the photographic ield for over three decades and has extensive experience in both ilm and digital photography. Being an electronics engineer by profession and a photographer, he possesses a uni ue and deep insight into the technical aspects of digital photography and e uipment. He has published more than a 100 articles on photography and some of his writings have also been published in the well-known international magazine Popular
Photography. An avid collector of photographic books and vintage cameras, Ashok has a keen interest in the history of photography and a passion for sharing his knowledge on photography through teaching and writing. He is the only Indian photographer to be featured on the Nikon Centenary website. He is presently working as a Management and
ngineering consutant. He can be reached at kashokk@gmail.com.
Landscapes are undoubtedly one of the most popular subjects in photography. Probably, there is no photographer in the world who has not tried his (or her) hand in this genre nfortunately, seascapes, which are a close relation to landscapes, are not so popular even though the former can be as interesting and beautiful. Seascape photography presents its own uni ue challenges. ike anything in life, challenges allow us to test our mettle and improve our skills. So, what does it take to get a good seascape photograph? Before we ‘dive’ deeper into this subject, we should know what a seascape is.
ikipedia defines it as follows:
A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words, an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation of landscape (naturally), which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar development, seascape has also come to mean actual views of the sea itself .
ith that, let us see what we want to cover in this article. e will look at the e uipment needed, how we need to take care of it, the best times for seascape photography, composition, camera settings and the procedure (techni ue) along with some examples.
Equipment needed
This is the best part Nothing expensive is needed. Here is a list of items that you should consider.
• Camera and lens: Any I C (Interchangeable lens camera that is a
-S or M C) will do uite well. ou will mostly use focal lengths between 24 mm to 85 mm (or 16 mm to 55 mm for a cropped body). So, a kit lens will do very well. ltra wide-angle (less than 24 mm) and telephoto lenses (for abstracts and closeups) up to 200 mm are also useful but are not a must.
• Filters: The most useful filter for photographing seascapes is the N or the Neutral ensity filter (Picture 1). These are dark grey in colour and cut down light to help you slow down the shutter speed. The amount of light a filter cuts is specified in ‘stops’ and is called the filter factor . A wide variety of N filters are available with different filter factors. The commonly used filters for seascapes are 3 stops, 6 stops (I use this personally) and 10 stops. Check the filter diameter of the lens that you are going to use and buy accordingly.
There are also filters called Vari-N filters whose filter factor can be varied and hence very useful. The problems with these are – they are usually thick and hence may cause vignetting (darkening of corners) when used with wide-angle lenses. They are also costly.
The other types that you may want are the more general-purpose in nature –
raduated N and polariser. However, in practise, I did not find much use for them when photographing seascapes.
• Tripod: This is the 3rd most important item since N filters are practically useless without a good tripod. Any standard tripod with a good head will do. I prefer a carbon fibre tripod (for less weight) with a ball head.
• ND Filter and Timer App: After you mount the N filter, the light reaching the camera may be so less that your camera may not give an exposure reading at all. If this is the case, you need to take the exposure reading without the N filter first.
Several apps are available for both Android and iPhones for finding the
shutter speed with the N filter if you input the current shutter speed (without the filter) and the N filter factor. See the screenshot of one such app called N
ilter Timer (Picture 2). In this example, the current shutter speed is 1/15 sec and it will be 4 sec (seconds) when you are using a 6 stop N filter. If you do not want to use an app, which is of course, far more convenient, you can use Table 1, instead. ou can get the same values from here too (see the cells highlighted in yellow).
sually, an N app will also include a timer. But why do you need one? Most cameras can time a shutter speed up to 30 sec by themselves. If you want the shutter to be kept open for a longer duration then you need to keep the camera in B (Brief-time) setting and manually keep the shutter open for the duration re uired. If you have a timer, you can start it when you open the shutter and the app will give an alarm (a buzz) after the exposure time over alerts you to close the shutter.
• Remote release with lock: A remote release will help you to release the shutter without shaking the camera. If you are taking a photograph with a shutter speed that is so long that the camera cannot time internally, a lock on the remote release will keep the shutter open without the need to keep the release button pressed (Picture
3). ou can also get wireless releases with varying degrees of sophistication and many new cameras also allow the release of shutter via your smartphone using Bluetooth or i- i. • Miscellaneous items: See the following list.
• A plastic bag to enclose the camera - a medium size garbage bag (a new one, of course ) will do the job well. • A clean soft cloth to wipe the camera. •
ens cleaning kit as you should expect water drops to fall on the lens. • Apart from drinking water carry two or three litres of clean fresh water for rinsing. More of this later.
Best times
The best time is early morning or late afternoon, just like landscape photography. Be at the spot before the light breaks and wait till gets dark. ramatic colours usually appear just after sunset. Cloudy skies add interest, so monsoon is a good time. High tides give rougher seas and can give more dramatic waves. ou can get information on weather conditions, tides, sunrise and sunset on your smartphone from appropriate sites. There are also some apps that can help you get this information.
Shutter speed to use
This is an interesting point and there is no single correct answer. ou can use any shutter speed, fast or slow, depending on the result you want. hile seas are usually photographed with slow shutter speeds, you can get interesting results even with fast shutter speeds (Picture 4).
ou can also take photographs with slow shutter speeds, but the point is, how slow should you go. There is no theoretical lower limit and seascapes have been taken with very long shutter speeds running to several minutes. To get some smoothening of water, you have to get to a shutter speed of sec or slower. If you use a longer shutter speed, typically above 5 sec, the water will begin to lose texture and start to look milky. However, there is no rule saying that you should not do that.
So, it finally boils down to what you like and want to show. To give a better understanding of the effect of shutter speed, see Pictures 5, 6, and 7. These were captured with shutter speeds of sec, 3 sec and 6 sec. See the difference in the way the sea has been rendered.
hich one do you like?
Composition
As with any photograph, a good composition makes a seascape photograph look better. The general well-known practises like the rule of thirds, the position of the horizon at the thirds, etc. will improve your photograph. Beyond that, consider the following:
Choose a place where there are foreground elements. This is not always possible as beaches are flat devoid of vegetation or structures. However, you may be able to find rock formations, small boats, etc. that you can use to add a foreground element for depth.
ook for human elements too. These can add scale and also provide a point of interest (Picture 8). Patterns and
textures are some of the other features that you will find in plenty. These can be formed by swirling water, rocks being washed by water, wave patterns, sand formations, etc. (Picture 9).
Camera settings
se manual exposure mode, multisegment (matrix) metering and manual IS . ou can use auto-focus but as you will see, you need to switch to manual or lock the focus, once the focus has been achieved. se only aw format as you are likely to encounter high-contrast scenes.
Switch on ong xposure Noise
eduction as this will eliminate the noise that builds up during a long exposure using dark frame subtraction. However, note that the total time of capture will double. That is, if the actual exposure is 6 sec, the total time will be 12 sec. Also, switch off any stabilisation, either on the lens or on the body or both, since your camera will be on a tripod.
The Procedure
Follow the steps given here.
Case 1: This is when the final shutter speed is less than 30 sec and hence can be timed by your camera. sually, 30 sec are uite ade uate and this is what you will need to do in most cases.
1. irst, find a suitable place that supports your composition and then mount the camera on a tripod.
2. evel the camera carefully. ue to the flat nature of the sea, even the slightest inclination of your camera will be immediately noticeable and will ruin an otherwise good seascape photograph.
3. o not mount the N filter at this stage as sometimes light will not be enough (after mounting the filter) for you to focus accurately and even the exposure meter may not work.
4. ocus (either manually or automatically) at the point you want and then lock the focus.
5. Set the aperture based on . If you are not sure, use f/11 for a full-frame camera or f/8 for a cropped camera as the starting point.
6. ecide on the shutter speed you want after mounting the N filter. As an example, let us say you are using a 6-stop N filter and you want the final shutter speed to be 4 sec. rom the app or table, get the corresponding shutter speed without the N filter. It is 1/15 for this case. Set the shutter speed on the camera to 1/15 sec.
7. Change the IS manually till you centre the metre marker to the centre of the metre scale. ou now have the correct exposure without the N filter.
8. Mount the N filter.
9. Keeping the aperture and IS the same, decrease the shutter speed to 4 sec. This is the correct exposure with the 6-stop filter in place.
10. se the remote to release the shutter. The camera will open the shutter for 4 sec and the capture will be completed.
Case 2: ou need to use this procedure (below) only if you want a shutter speed of more than 30 sec. ecall that most cameras cannot time the shutter opening beyond this. Hence, you need to keep track of time with an external timer.
Steps 1 to 5 are as before. After that do as follows:
6. ecide on the shutter speed you want after mounting the N filter. As an example, let us say you are using a 6-stop N filter and you want the final shutter speed to be 64 sec. rom the app or table, get the corresponding shutter speed without the N filter. It is 1 sec for this case. Set the shutter speed on the camera to 1 sec.
7. Change IS manually till you centre the metre marker to the centre of the metre scale. ou now have the correct exposure without the N filter.
8. Mount the N filter.
9. Keep the aperture and IS the same. Set the shutter speed to B (Brief-time).
10. Start timer in the N ilter Timer app (or use a stopwatch).
11. Immediately open the shutter, pressing the remote release button. Since you are using the ‘B’ setting, push the lock on the remote or keep the remote button pressed with your finger, to keep the shutter open. 12. The app will give a buzz when the time is over. Close the shutter immediately by unlocking or by taking your finger off the button. (See Picture 10 for an example).
Post-processing
enerally, seascape photographs don’t need any special type of postprocessing beyond what you do for landscapes. If you are using ightroom or Photoshop AC , then Texture, Clarity, ehaze and Vibrance controls can do wonders for you.
Tips and Tricks:
1. A camera mounted on a tripod restricts your mobility. Hence, find the best location and camera position by observing through the viewfinder of your camera. Mount the camera on the tripod only after that. ou need to do this every time you change your spot.
2. If you already have a lens protecting filter, remove it when using any other filter as stacking filters always degrades image uality.
3. se the plastic cover to completely enclose the camera and the tripod head between shots. This will prevent the e uipment from being sprayed with sea water.
4. Try as much as possible not to change memory cards or lenses. If you need to change lenses, move about 30 metres from the water, turn around so that your back faces the sea and only then change the lenses.
5. Clean the camera with a soft cloth often.
6. Before taking every photograph, look for any water drops on the lens front element (or the filter if you are using one) and wipe these off if present.
7. ou must have read that when using a tripod, you must use the thicker sections first. This is correct but when using in or near sea water, extend the last (that is the thinnest) first since this reduces the chances of sea water getting into the leg locks unless you go deep.
8. Be careful when a wave spreads water around one or more tripod legs. The soil over which the wave propagated will sort of cave in and may cause the tripod to trip.
9. Never keep the camera and the tripod less than 30 metres from water unattended. ogue waves can come suddenly and may cause the tripod to trip.
10. After you get home, wipe all the camera e uipment with a slightly damp (not wet) cloth to remove any salt deposits and then wipe it dry with a clean cloth. Check for sand in all joints and between the lens rings. An old toothbrush works well to remove it. ash all the tripod legs that were dipped in the sea under running tap water and rinse.
11. our camera and lens may be specified as weatherproof, but that does not mean that they are waterproof If seawater, which is very corrosive, gets into the locks of a tripod, or if you drop any e uipment, pick it up immediately and rinse it thoroughly with fresh water. That is why you should carry at least 2 litres of freshwater apart from drinking water. After going home take the e uipment, as soon as possible, to a service center.
12. And the final point. More important than your e uipment and getting a picture, is yourself Please take all the precautions needed and do not get into dangerous situations. o not venture too deep into the sea even if you are a good swimmer. It is best to go with a friend who can summon help, if and when needed.