Four tips from Luke for shooting eye-catching landscapes by the water

1 How to capture better colours

I often use a polarising filter to increase colour saturation, reduce reflections or bring out the clouds and skies (but as seen in this image, sometimes you want to hold on to those reflections). It’s great that you can vary the degree of polarisation to bring out the best in all the elements.

2 Use a neutral density filter

A longer shutter speed can allow currents and patterns in the water to reveal themselves and add extra energy. To achieve this, I’ll often use a 3-stop Neutral Density filter to slow things up and shoot during the blue hour, just after sunset. This flattens the light and introduces an evocative blue tint.

3 Develop your craft

Always experiment and ask yourself what you want to bring out in a given photograph. Here, I wanted to contrast the movement of the waves with the permanence of the cliffs, so I bracketed with different shutter speeds to capture the surging power of the sea. 4 Make sure that you stay safe It’s tempting to believe that you would get a better shot if you were just a few metres higher, or standing on that dodgy overhang, but this isn’t always the case. Knowing your limits is paramount, and I always take all-weather gear, whatever the forecast – nature can be unforgiving as well as unpredictable.