I have stated my love for long exposures before, and from browsing my landscape photography portfolio it may become clear I have a long exposure problem. But sometimes shorter is actually better! And when to leave the ND filter in the camera bag is probably one of the hardest decisions for long exposure junkies! When shooting a quite nice sunset on the beautiful beach of Dail Mor on Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, I had to make one such decision, and I did this for the following reasons:
- The tide was coming in and the waves were impressive. They were hitting the rocks and cliffs around Dal Mor very hard, but also creating these beautiful white streaks when the waves were receding.
- The beach provided a wealth of interesting compositional possibilities, and due to the tide rising quickly I wanted to be as flexible as possible.
- I wanted to shoot from as close to the sea as possible, meaning that the waves would often reach my tripod, and pulling at its legs when retreating back to the sea. I tried hard to push the tripod feet as deep as possible into the sand, which would partially remedy this, but I have often come back from shooting long exposures under such conditions only to find out that all my shots were soft. At least when shooting short exposures, one has the luxury to take multiple “insurance shots”, at least one of which better be sharp!
Below you can find a trio of pictures taken this session.
Large waves cause beautiful white streaks and swirls on Dail Mor beach, Isle of Lewis
Waves hit the rocks on Dail Mor beach
