November 2021 - Crashing waves
Hello again! I am writing this as autumn is beginning to get real: here in Lancing, the day has been full of strong winds, loads of heavy rain and a smidgeon of sunshine.
One of the things I like to do when the wind is up is to take photos of the waves breaking against the shore or the rocks. There’s an elemental power in the crashing waves that defies our abilities to control our surroundings (remember King Canute!), and that never shows the same patterns, the same scenes, twice. During the summer I rarely get the chance to take this sort of picture, but the winds of yesterday and today have meant that the breakers have been very impressive – dark green water, tons of it, crashing against the sand and the pebbles and moving higher up the beach with each one. (It was coming up to high tide when I went down there with my dog this morning. She was very interested in the water, but her fears of being attacked by a large wave mean that she makes sure she won’t be surprised by a sudden rogue wave).
This picture shows a wave breaking against one of the rock groynes that protect the beach and us from being overwhelmed by winter storms. There are a number of ways to photograph this sort of thing: you can have it crisp and sharp, showing all the droplets flying around, or soften it in editing or by having a slightly longer exposure to create a more dreamy image. And you can put it into black and white, as I have done. There wasn’t a lot of colour in the original in any case, and I decided to emphasise the sheer power of the water bursting over the rock: not a place I would like to stand beneath! I also darkened the rock slightly so that it would stand out more.
Black and white pictures take away a lot of the thinking as you evaluate a photograph; instead, you can concentrate on the tones and on the shapes that are there. It’s a much more graphic way of presenting an image to you – the photographer has decided to limit the information you get so that you can concentrate on what he / she wants you to focus on.
At the Malden Camera Club, we have just set up a new group which is looking to help those club members who are interested in improving their monochrome skills. It’s really helpful!