Beach Trip: In the Waves

Beach photographers make it look easy. Their pictures present a calm, peaceful, and serene atmosphere that makes you wish you could've been there...naturally, I thought that beach photography would be easy...but there were a few things that I didn't take into consideration-like wind. What do you think causes those big waves that are so great for boogie-boarding? And what exactly do you expect to build a sandcastle with? That's right-sand. Oh, and let me remind you that there is no escaping from these natural elements. There is scarcely any trees to speak of to block the wind and...nowhere to wash your hands. *sigh* So much for my peaceful and serene beach picture. Most of my pictures are covered with a salty, sandy film mixed with a bit of sunscreen. :( But...I got better as the days wore on. I learned to take pictures before I got into the water, to bring my cleaning cloth, to point my camera down away from the wind when I was not taking a picture, and not to lather on sunscreen too heavily on my forearms. :) With that said here are some of the pictures I took that didn't turn out too badly.

Day Two:

Notice how I used the rule of thirds to frame many of these photos.

Notice how my two brothers form a line from one corner to the next.

Hmm mm mmm...love those thirds...:)

I love the simplicity of these photographs below, with, again the rule of thirds calling the shots. :)

Looking for Shells Near the San Luis Pass:

(Above and Below enhanced with Photoshop sliding color controls)

Guess what? The thirds are at work again!

Day Four:

Simplicity is not a bad thing. 

Simplicity of composition, color, and subject all bring the viewer's focus right where you want it.

Looking for Shells Again by the San Luis Pass:

Day Five: 
In Galveston 

 

Frozen in Time

One morning following a hard freeze I awoke discovering to my amazement that several trees were covered by ice, but not all the vegetation. Apparently our sprinklers had gone off and as it was dripping off the limbs it froze, leaving these beautiful icicles.

Even the berries on this Youpon tree were encased in ice,

and this drop of water, seemingly frozen in time.

Notice the lines and the symmetry that makes the picture below so interesting.

The Extraordinary of the Ordinary-An Expedition

Looking cozy and warm...

Okay...not so much. :)

Enjoying the beautiful fall foliage.

I used one of my favorite techniques, a long shutter-speed to "tame" the water.

Do you see the photographer in the bubbles below?

I studied this one rock (below) for over an hour...it just never got old. I loved watching how the the water flowed across the rocks, making ripples wherever one protruded above the surface. I loved how the water caught the scattered light from the canopy above and glistened like crystal in the morning. Sitting with my feet in the freezing water I watched as several leaves floated past, dancing in the current and clumsily bumping into rocks in the ballroom. These captured my interest as you can see, and provided some very intriguing subject matter. I was amazed with the water flowing over my bare feet, I thought about the intricacy of each drop of water, which on it's own seemed vastly insignificant but were it not for those tiny droplets we could not survive. Water is yet another magnificent aspect of God's creation, it is present in nearly everything, and can take on so many different forms. It moves, it ripples, and at times seems to have a mind of it's own. :)

There are countless photographic opportunities everywhere we go if we will but take the time to notice them.

Callaway Gardens-Day Four-Louisiana Coast

NOTE: The photos of me were taken by my father, David Shiflet.