Advice for early morning ocean shots?

filter?

If possible, scout out your location the night before. Bring a compass. A fairly inexpensive one will do. Whether you want to shoot into or with the sun, this will give you the exact alignment of the sunrise. Most tables online that give you the sunrise/sunset times will also give you the compass bearing. This will enable you to more accurately preview the layout of your photographs.

Remember that there is a 'golden hour' both before sunrise and after sunset. So, for your 6:30 sunrise, I would arrive around 5:00 am, no later than 5:30. It takes a few minutes for that last swig of coffee and to assemble tripod and camera, etc. Most 'night' shots look best at this golden hour. Bracket your shots. Read up on how to set up AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing). I'd set it for -2, 0, +2 stops of bracketing. This will give you the most options for Photoshop blending and a good set of HDR pics, if you choose that direction.

Hi coco-puffs, I do have 2 ND grads.

hi beachgirl. nice van
sorry for the one word post but thats all that came to my mind after everyone's post. Just don't forget your tripod!! I did that once when I wanted to shoot an architecture that was lit up at night. I learned my lesson lol.

not the ocean ! but reelfoot lake tn. f6.3 1/250 iso 100 hand helt took about 20 shots all def. setting
http://smg.photobucket​.com …refPage=&imgAnc​h=imgAnch1

Thanks to both of you. beachgirl, try to remember to relax. It is just a photo and since you go there a lot anyway you can always try again. Sounds like you are ready. Have fun!

gkas, Thanks for the help. I was going to TRY the bracketing too. And I plan on getting up @5am(something I never do on purpose)so I have lots of time to figure out what I'm doing. My brain is slow in the morning.
PeAcE,
-BG

Relax, right You are so right, no worries...I can always go back and try again. If I get close to my goal I'll be happy. Thanks In2Photos, you are always so nice

_BG

kilowat wrote:
not the ocean ! but reelfoot lake tn. f6.3 1/250 iso 100 hand helt took about 20 shots all def. setting
http://smg.photobucket​.com …refPage=&imgAnc​h=imgAnch1

Very nice kilowat, hope mine come out that good.

Coco-Puffs wrote:
hi beachgirl. nice van
sorry for the one word post but thats all that came to my mind after everyone's post. Just don't forget your tripod!! I did that once when I wanted to shoot an architecture that was lit up at night. I learned my lesson lol.

No way... won't forget the tripod. Thanks

beachgirl wrote:
gkas, Thanks for the help. I was going to TRY the bracketing too. And I plan on getting up @5am(something I never do on purpose)so I have lots of time to figure out what I'm doing. My brain is slow in the morning.
PeAcE,
-BG

BG... probably starbucks will be your best friend at 5AM in the morning... especially a double shot expresso frapacinno venti with no whip. yummo!~ this will really help out with the brain scrambling..

i'm getting all excited just counting the days before i head to pacific grove, carmel and those areas... i really need a vacation!!!

Beachgirl,

You'll enjoy shooting at dawn/dusk. As the othes have mentioned, a tripod will be a must, and make sure to have those ND filters ready, depending on what effect you're looking for. Below is a link to a series I did down here in Laguna Beach. They're all between 2-4 seconds long, shot about 1/2 hour before sunset to 1/2 hour after. I was shooting shutter priority here, adding and removing ND's to keep the aperture at about f/11-f/16. Hope this helps you out, enjoy your trip, and look forward to seeing your captures!

http://www.flickr.com …h/sets/72157594​152799500/

EOS mE wrote:
BG... probably starbucks will be your best friend at 5AM in the morning... especially a double shot expresso frapacinno venti with no whip. yummo!~ this will really help out with the brain scrambling..

i'm getting all excited just counting the days before i head to pacific grove, carmel and those areas... i really need a vacation!!!

OMG! I can't even handle regular coffee...I'm naturally hyper/nervous. I stick with irish cream hot coco from starbucks. Where do you stay when you go to the Monterey area? We have a friend in Pacific Grove who is offering his guest quarters. I'm excited too, we are going to check out Point Lobos one of the days. China Beach is really pretty. That whole Monterey to Carmel and beyond is just awsome. Can't wait to see some of your pics. We really need a break too. No better place to just kick it.

lmitch6 wrote:
Beachgirl,

You'll enjoy shooting at dawn/dusk. As the othes have mentioned, a tripod will be a must, and make sure to have those ND filters ready, depending on what effect you're looking for. Below is a link to a series I did down here in Laguna Beach. They're all between 2-4 seconds long, shot about 1/2 hour before sunset to 1/2 hour after. I was shooting shutter priority here, adding and removing ND's to keep the aperture at about f/11-f/16. Hope this helps you out, enjoy your trip, and look forward to seeing your captures!

http://www.flickr.com …h/sets/72157594​152799500/

Hi lmitch6, your photos are beautiful! And thank you for sharing them. It is exactly what I want to try . I think I can do it I've had lots of great advice so far. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Beachgirl,

Thanks for the compliment!!! I really apprecieate it!. It's not too hard, the only real trick I had to master is not being so close to the surf that the tripod legs start sinking as the waves recede - made for some really funny moments though! I always remind myself of the saying that "photography is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration"

I'm planning a trip up through Big Sur and on to Monterey, so I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience, keep us posted!