NZPhotographer Issue 11, Sept 2018

HOW TO CAPTURE: COASTAL SUNRISES AND SUNSETS
Coastal photography tips with Richard Young
SHIPWRECKED
by Brendon Gilchrist
Sunrise, Abel Tasman National Park
FIND A SUBJECT:
Coastal shots are often largely made up of sky
and water, but they also need a focal point to
help draw in the eye of the viewer. This could be
some foreground detail like a rock in the sea or a
landscape feature such as a distant headland. Make
sure the subject fills your shot so you don’t leave the
viewer lost and looking around for it.
LOOK AROUND YOU:
As the sun slips over the horizon, it casts a beautiful
golden light across the beach. Whilst everyone else
is busy looking at the sun and shooting that scene,
take a moment to look around, the scene behind you
might be gorgeous too.
CAPTURE THE WAVES:
Waves present a great opportunity to add a creative
element. Experiment with different shutter speeds to
either freeze or capture the movement of the waves.
To freeze the waves and capture them as they break,
use a fast shutter speed, ideally faster than 1/500sec.
To blur the waves and capture their movement, use
an exposure of 1 second or longer.
ADD SOME SKY:
F8, 30s, ISO 100, 24mm
One advantage of being on the beach at sunset or
sunrise is that the horizon out to sea gives you a lot of
sky. If you have interesting clouds, use a wide-angle
lens and place your horizon lower in the photograph
to capture more of the sky.
CAPTURE SOME OF THE COUNTRY'S BEST COASTAL LANDSCAPES ON A 4-DAY GOLDEN BAY PHOTO
TOUR: 27TH - 30TH SEPTEMBER WITH NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
I
always felt like I wanted to shoot a shipwreck.
But with no shipwrecks nearby I pushed it to the
back of my mind. A few months later one of
the world’s oldest schooner’s beached itself not far
from Christchurch.
It is hard to describe what I felt when I was scrolling
through my Facebook feed and saw that the MV
Tuhoe had beached itself near the head of the
Waimakariri River. I could not believe that it had
happened!
This 97 foot double masted auxiliary schooner,
constructed of triple skin kauri, was built in
Auckland in 1919 by George Nicol. Her Maori name
meaning ‘the children of the mist’.
I saw this as an opportunity not just for
photography, but to document the resting place of
a piece of history but I only had 1 night in which to
do it.
After a day of work followed by a basketball
commitment at night, I drove to the nearest car
park and walked the 40 min along the beach in the
dark. It felt like forever, as if the beach would never
end. Was I walking through portals and coming
back to the same piece of driftwood? Maybe I
was? Off in the distance, I could see a shape but
it was still far away. I keep walking, enjoying the
sound of the crashing waves, hoping I would not
step on a sleeping seal.
The further I walked the more the shape resembled
a boat – I felt a sense of relief, I was nearly there. It
was around 10.30pm by this time and I didn’t know
when the moon was going to rise and also had
no idea that it was a full moon at this point – Not
conditions I would have chosen to shoot in if given
a different option.
As I continued walking I could see the glow getting
stronger on the horizon and thought “oh no, you
got to be kidding. I have only a few minutes before
the moon rises.” If you have never sat and watched
the moon rise you won’t realise how fast it moves. I
quickly put my camera bag down, looked at what I
had to work with and got my camera out and onto
the tripod as fast as possible. It’s these moments
when you need be creative in an instance – I
needed to capture the emotions of this boat as fast
as possible.
I managed to get 3 great compositions before the
moon got too high and bright. The reflections in
the sand and the moon rising to the side, this its last
night alive... I was privileged to stand there alone,
shivering cold, capturing the moment.
I set up my time lapse after I had taken the stills
and stepped aside to let the camera do all the
work. Over the next hour and a half, I watched the
moon rising and the stars rotating. These moments
of waiting, of being cold, of being entirely alone,
are also some of the most inspiring. I was witnessing
the last night that this boat got to see on this earth,
September 2018
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