We welcomed Jonathan this evening to give a talk on waterscapes. He started of by giving a short introduction of how he got into waterscapes himself. Growing up in France he was surrounded by the coast and estuaries, and now lives in Scotland still surrounded by water. He bought a secondhand camera in 2014 and tried a variety of genres before deciding on waterscapes.
The talk featured the importance of planning, essential gear and best tips on location long exposures.
Planning ahead is essential. Researching location before deciding to photograph an area. Understanding the landscape. The direction of the light. Looking for interesting features such as lighthouses, fishing huts, rivers and lakes. Checking the weather forecast. Times of the sunrise and sunset.
Studying the wind, clouds and rain. The direction of their movements is crucial to the type of finished image that you might want. The positions of the clouds affect the light and offer different impact.
High clouds after sunset give the best colours. And before sunrise the colours are intensified.
Medium clouds before sunrise or sunset give bright colours. Also look for the gaps in the clouds.
Low clouds are usually dark and give a warm glow from the west. Mixed clouds give contrasting colours.
Always observe first and think carefully about your composition and what your final image will look like. Don't rush. Try different angles. And always get there early.
His list of important gear:
Camera, tripod, remote control, and filters
Lens: wide angle f2.8 16-35m. Tele photo f4 24-100 and f4.5 100-400
He showed us some amazing images with the settings and talked about their locations. A very interesting talked and I am sure that everyone went away with something that they can use in the future.
