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BEHIND THE LENSLead a
PHOTOGRAPHER: JUSTIN GILLIGAN
I’ve spent many summers on Birubi Beach near
Port Stephens winding down during the Christmas
and New Year’s break. Quite often I have my
camera on hand to photograph the sites, which
range from spectacular sunsets to the nearby
Stockton Beach sand dunes.
The camel tour on this beach had become so
familiar that I simply overlooked it as a photographic
subject – it was as though it had become invisible
to me.
That all changed during an afternoon walk
on the beach when our paths crossed. It was
an intriguing encounter as tourists wielding
selfie sticks road aloft of the chain of the slowly
meandering beastly creatures.
It soon dawned on me that it was a quintessential
scene that really represented this beach. So I
returned with my camera and housing in the hope
of achieving a “crabs-eye” perspective of the tour
for something a little bit different.
The day was hot and the sea conditions a
little rough. As I waded into the water with waves
washing around me I accepted this was going to be
a challenging concept to pull off.The key to success was preparation, so I
determined the correct exposure for the bright clouds
in the sky and took a few test shots before reviewing
the histogram. My goal was to shoot at the highest
aperture possible at a relatively low ISO, whilst
retaining a high shutter speed to freeze the action.
In terms of focus, I selected “Continuous”
System Mode to ensure that the camera
continually focused as I changed composition,
and “Single” Area Mode in the hope that the point
would land on the camels in the center top-third
of the scene, rather than focusing on the lower
underwater portion of the scene.
As the tour approached I started clicking away
with waves lapping over the dome port of my
housing. There was little time to review images,
I simply held the camera at a range of angles and
hoped for the best.
This was a slow-burn concept many years in
the making, but more than that it was just another
fantastic day at the beach during a summer escape.NIKON D800, SIGMA 15MM LENS, 1/200S @ F13,
IKELITE HOUSING.AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY MARCH 2016to water
camel