Serenity, the state of being calm and peaceful.
This past weekend we had some crazy waves along the northern coast of California and amazingly warm weather so of course I had to charge up the camera and head to the coast! Santa Rosa is less than an hour to the coast, not too far to jump in the car top down and get there in time for the sunset. It was amazing. Clear sky, giant waves pounding the shore, and the hubs. The only thing we forgot was the bottle of wine!
We got there just in time for me to set up and take a few practice shots, then let loose with the camera feet in the sand and ready to capture the moment. I have been wanting to practice my sunset shots and nighttime photography for a while and we had a great opportunity last weekend. Six-hundred and ninety-nine shots later, I have about 25 to touch up and post. I kept trying to capture just the right amount of spray or just the right position with the sun going down and waves crashing. There was definitely some intent and thought behind the shots but seriously in 90 minutes that’s a lot of photos! Thank goodness we are digital! What if I would have missed THE perfect shot???
Thankfully I have a Photoshop expert as a friend to help teach me the post processing but for now here are a few photos from the sunset that I thought were special.
I am learning still so any tips are really appreciated and feedback is welcome! My next photography purchase is going to be a good tripod I can take with us for the darker shots that need longer exposure time.
This is linked to the weekly photo challenge, check out more amazing photos here.
I think these are all beautiful photos, but I especially like the crashing waves in the last shot! Sunset at the beach is definitely one of the best ways to end a day 🙂
Nothing really replaces a tripod for night shots, but have you heard of this camera holding technique (http://ceenphotography.com/2014/03/14/cees-tips-and-tricks-sharp-images-without-a-tripod/)? It’s helped me quite a bit when I’m caught without a stationary surface!
Thank you! The waves were crazy last weekend and made for some good shots. Thanks for the link! I will have to try holding the camera a little different like she shows. Some of them I was sitting on the sand with my knees as my ‘tripod’ which helped. In my next post this week there were some pretty funny positions I was in and couldn’t quite capture what I wanted (picture straddling a low fence leaning over in dim light trying to get a close up of moss).