10
Wa v e m o t i o n There are so many ways to
photograph waves: smooth and frothy;
sharp and dramatic as they crash against the
coast; or as they quietly recede with the tide. How
you choose to capture them depends on your
shutter speed and timing; personally, I prefer to fire
the shutter just as the waves crash and are dragging
back into the sea. The white trails of a receding tide
are best caught when the water has calmed down:
when a wave comes in it does so with force and the
break can look like messy white blobs if you shoot it
at this stage. As it drags back you start to see the more
appealing true blues and greens of the water against
the white trail, this is when I fire the shutter – ideally
with around a two-second shutter speed. It really
depends on the scene you’re shooting and the speed
of the wave though: often a two- to four-second
exposure is perfect, while at other times lengthening
the exposure to six seconds can work well or mean
you miss the wave completely and be left with a bare
foreground. If the waves are not crashing in with any
force, I’ll shoot it as it’s coming in but only so to
replicate these types of trails.82 Digital SLR Photography Ma y 2019
11
Long exposures While ten-stop
Neutral Density filters are understandably
popular, I try to avoid them. They’re ideal
for introducing atmosphere to shots during the
day and if you want to create a minimalist long-
exposure seascape with a pier or line of groynes,
but I prefer finding simplicity in complicated
landscapes and these generally suit faster
exposures. If the sea is really calm, a 30-second or
more exposure is a good choice as the sea is too
still to do anything with. If it’s a rough sea, I prefer
a two- to six-second exposure that comes from
the likes of a six-stop ND filter as it’s more likely to
capture wave motion, texture and drama.