Getting into photography in the waves is a tall order for most people. First you need to have a wetsuit, fins, gloves and shoes. Then you need a decent camera, a camera housing and the guts to jump into the ocean, in what for most people look like rough conditions.
It’s not that hard, at least not when you get into the groove, it’s just a high bar to cross for most people due to all the prerequisites.
In the water the rules of photography are the same as any other photography. It’s about composition, light, timing and positioning.
Most of the time I’m doing this thing as the only photographer in the water. You are by no means alone, as there is a great community in the ocean, and there are great people at shore shooting always up for a chat, but inside the water I’m pretty much by myself.
That’s why I was real hyped when my friend Runa wanted to join me in the ocean. Runa is a great photographer with sick skills, who pulls of stuff I have no idea how to do. She is also an avid surfer, and she know her way around the Jæren coastline. But she has not done much shooting in the ocean.
Check out her site runaandersen.com and her Instagram profile @runaandersen!
Camera settings
We pulled up at the beach with great sun light beaming straight into the waves. For a ocean photographer getting the sun behind you like that is a real treat, because you know anything moving in the waves will be lit by nature. The waves were decent, but not huge. Probably a good thing, all things considered.
Once again I opted for a wide angle lens in a dome port, planning to switch to a longer lens after a while. With good amounts of light I chose aperture F/6.3, ISO 400 and shutter 1/2000.
I hoped this would be a good choice for a beginner ocean photographer, and it worked out ok even though the sun dissapeared on us just 15 minutes after going in, leaving us with classic Jæren greyness. After an hour or so the waves decided to leave as well, but all in all we got a good, short workout.
Photos
With only using my photo gear we split the shooting time inbetween us. Check out Runa’s Instagram profile for her shots from the day. I did these:
Thanks for your support
Thanks for supporting your local photographers by sharing, liking and commenting.
If you like what I do, please check out these fine people as well:
- https://www.instagram.com/kahlstrom
- https://www.instagram.com/bearphoot/
- https://www.instagram.com/ber_lot/
- https://www.instagram.com/frodegoa/
- https://www.instagram.com/brochmannen/
- https://www.instagram.com/sondreforsell/
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Ivar Vasstveit 