Chasing the Sun
Kristopher Keen
It was rainy and windy all day. Did that stop me? No…. I went down by the York river to see what there is to shoot. I got a great shot using a ND filter on my Tameron wide angle lens. Looking around trying to find the right shot.
Test Shot 1
Test Shot 2
Finally I decided on a spot on one of the boat docks. Walking out there I was met with a plethora of sea gulls and of course their waste. Yes gull poo everywhere. I wasn’t going to let that stop me though. I snapped a couple quick photos of the gulls and got to work composing the shot.
Gulls:
It was a very windy day and the river was extremely rough. I could point my camera and take a shot. However, that wouldn’t give me the smooth water fine art look I was going for. Only one option, I had to use my Neutral Density Filter. One problem, I didn't have my tripod with me. A numeral density filter blocks a significant amount of light allowing me to set my camera to a much slower shutter speed. What this does is allows the camera to capture the light data at a slower rate. This in turn makes it so you don’t see every peak and valley of the waves. It essentially will smooth the water out, which you will later see also in my sunset photos.
Bridge:
Because I was shooting with a slow shutter speed, I couldn’t hand hold the camera. The option I had was to set it down on a piling on the pier. The problem with that was it was covered in gull poo. YUCH. Not only that, I had to sit down on the dock to align my camera for the shot. Let’s just say it was a good thing there was a porta John to wash my hands after I was done with the shoot. I also had some lens wipes that I could wipe my camera down with.
Sunset:
After the bridge shot I was mentally committed to get a sunset shot. The problem was it was still cloudy. As you know, completely cloudy skies make a very boring sunset photo. I checked the weather and it showed that it was going to be partly cloudy at sunset. Perfect… like too many clouds, too little clouds also makes for a boring sunset.
While back at the hotel, I got onto google maps to try and find the perfect spot for a sunset. The location I took the bridge didn’t work. The sun was going to set on the other side of the bridge. I could get the sun, but there was no subject if I didn’t have the bridge.
I also used an app called “plan it for photographers”. Mind you, I am not associated with them in any way. I just love the way that you can select a location, lens angle, and see exactly where the sun will set. This allows you to plan where you want to aim your camera, and what subjects will be in your field of view. I love it.
After some searching I found two locations to possibly shoot the sunset. The main one was just on the other side of the i64 tunnel. There was a little piece of beach that was perfect and the field of view had a navy dock in it that would allow for some awesome focus and interest in the photo.
The second location planned was a place called Pig Point. This would also of been an awesome spot, decent foreground and overlooking the river.
I left for the first location about 2.5 hrs before sunset. It was about a half hour drive and I would have plenty of time to setup and find the perfect composition. The drive was awesome, I got to go through the tunnel under the river. When I showed up, there was a ton of construction in the area. The spot I wanted to do the shoot at was blocked and gated by the construction company. Shoot. Plan two.
Checked the GPS, 40 minutes to the other spot. I can do it, I thought to myself. I followed the GPS; on ramp closed getting onto the highway. I went the alternate route; just before I got to the highway a sign said no right turns. OMG, back to google maps. After a long detour I found myself back on the highway.
Made it to location two. Less than a 10th of a mile to Pig Point there was a gate with a guard shack. Shoot…. I thought to myself. Out of options. I found a place to pull off and scrambled for another location. Only one hour until sunset. I opened google maps and looked for some place close. I went north on the maps and cam across Huntington Beach. Travel time 19 min. I thought, “okay I can do this”. I threw the truck into drive and took off.
Back over the bridge, through the tunnel to location three. This has to work. There is no other option. The sun will be only minutes before sunset by the time I get there.
I made it, 15 min to spare. I had enough time to use the restroom and get set up. The location was great. There was a rip rap dyke that shot out into the river to create a safe harbor for launching and landing boats. I was setting up, found the perfect frame, popped on the filter and took my first shot; perfect.
As soon as I snapped the first picture, a guy behind me yelled, “That’s going to be an awesome shot”. I replied, “it should be”. I continued shooting multiple shots, moving the camera slightly to get different compositions as the sun was setting.
Perfect. The shots turned out beautiful. The guy behind me came down to the beach when I was packing up to see what I was able to capture. I showed him the shots. “You have a great camera”. I just smiled and said, “thanks”.
OMG. That is a photographer's favorite line. “You must have a great camera”. Come on dude. I just chased the sunset for two hours just to get one great photo.
Final Shot:
