I have been photographing these lifeguard towers for the past 6 years. I have a series on them that took me 2 years to complete. They are all so different and so unique. Not one of them is the same.
There are a couple new ones that were recently put up, and they look really cool. This is the new 4th street lifeguard tower in Miami Beach. I have been getting up to check out the sunrise just about every other morning and photograph this things. I just find them super cool.
When you are out there you have to remember to keep moving around as the sun starts to come up. The light will start changing quickly so you have to think on your feet and try to get as many compositions as you can during sunrise.
Here is a video I put together on how I edit my long exposure photos. I always try to get close to what I picture in my head with my camera settings, this way I do not have to spend too much time on the computer and more time out shooting.
What is an ND filter? What is it for? How do you use it?
ND or Neutral Density filters are dark filters and are designed to reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor of your camera in order to increase exposure times, without affecting the color of the image.
There are many different manufacturers, and if you decide to get one, make sure you don’t get a cheap one. This filters usually start from light and go to really dark. They reduce your F-stop by 1 stop, 2 stops, etc. etc.
I like to use a 10 stop filter. This is a very dark filter, it reduces light by ten stops. You have to set up your shot before you attach your filter. Here is a video I made on how to use these filters.
This is the filter I use for all my daytime long exposures. 77mm 3.0 ND MRC 110M Filter, Every photo here has been shot with this exact filter, and I could not be happier.
Long Exposures Using ND Filters
So when do you use these filters? I like to use them when the weather is crazy, usually when the clouds are visibly moving really fast and the colors are vibrant. During sunrise and right after sunset is usually a good time.
You can use these filters in the day time that’s how you get the crazy movement of the clouds. Below are a few examples of how I use these filters. All these photos are shot in bulb mode and are from 1-3 minute exposures.
4 am I open my eyes, I look at the clock and realize I am not going back to bed. I turn on the tv and its forensic files, I look at the clock and its 5:30 am. At this point I’m thinking about the ocean and an amazing sunrise but I’m glued to my bed, next thing you know I get this image in my head. I look at the clock ant its 6:15am. I jump out of bed throw on some shorts grab my camera and go to the beach. The sky was perfect.
The first image is what I had in my head while laying in my bed, but when I got there and I started walking around I realized there was lots more potential and more awesome angles to be had.
The clouds were moving and the colors were saturated and alive. Next thing you know people started coming from all directions.
Everyone just wanted a peek of the sunrise…
Once I took all my photos and took all this in I picked up my bike form the sand and started walking away, then I turned my head and had to pull out my camera for one last shot…
If this isn’t the start of a perfect day I don’t know what is. Which one is your favorite photo? I made a video on editing this photos, it will be up shortly….
In this video I will walk you through creating a really cool B&W image in Adobe Lightroom. I have also included the preset for this image for FREE on the link below. Check out the video and if you have any questions drop them on the comments below. Miami Cityscape Free Preset – Get Adobe Lightroom Here
In this video I will show you how to bring out the shadows on your under exposed photographs, I will also cover graduated filters and show you how to make your photos pop with a few simple sliders in Lightroom 5.
I shot this a few weeks back from South Pointe Park here in Miami Beach. I often come here to watch the sunset and watch the ships leave the port of Miami. Its an spectacular site to see, not only the massive ships leaving but also the amazing sunsets you get to see from this park. This sail boat was coming into port as this ship was leaving and it looked like they were going to crash.
I made a video to show you how to edit photos like this one and get colors out of your images. Thats why its very important to always shoot RAW. (I made a video on this, its somewhere on my channel)
Camera settings: 1/200 of a second F2.8 ISO 500 I shot this with a 70-200mm lens my Aperture was wide open and my ISO was high because I didn’t have a tripod and had to shoot this handheld, shooting the photograph this way prevented any blur or fuzziness on my photograph.
Please drop me a line below or any questions you might have. Subscribe to my Youtube Channel to get updates on new training videos and some funky behind the scenes.
