Memories on the Beach
“If there’s heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached to it.”
Jimmy Buffett
How often does the sight of a beach bring back memories? A beach isn’t merely a place. It’s a feeling.
My first ocean beach encounter was in the summer of 1973. I was attending college at the University of Minnesota. My good friend, John Hiemenz, invited me to visit his home in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The 1,700-mile drive with John over three days provided me ample opportunity to anticipate what I would experience. When I finally saw Daytona Beach, I was enthralled. The sun, sand, surf, and salt water were so unlike Minnesota beaches. And so was my subsequent sunburn!
Since then, I’ve been back to Florida on multiple occasions for vacations and work. But I never had the opportunity to recapture the magic of a Florida beach with my camera.
The Florida Coast
The opportunity finally presented itself in April. I contacted a photography friend to arrange a few days of instruction in Florida. Among his many talents is wave photography.
I anxiously flew to Jacksonville, Florida and drove the short distance to the coast. The next dawn, we were on the beach enjoying and photographing waves. The weather favored us during our four days together.
Unlike Minnesota in February or Death Valley in August, photography was so pleasant. You merely had to roll out of bed in the morning, slip on beach shoes, a swimsuit, a tee shirt, and occasionally a light jacket to be comfortable.
The Shot
Most people instinctively “freeze” wave motion using a very short shutter speed, such as 1/1000 of a second. You can see every drop of water and every bit of spray this way.
This photograph uses the exact opposite approach. A long shutter speed (perhaps a third of a second) along with subtle horizontal camera movement can impart a dreamy look to the image. It’s a look that very much appeals to me.
The downside is the hit or miss nature of the technique. Many of the images miss the peak of the action. Others are too blurry. And yet others are too sharp. Finally, sometimes the camera movement isn’t level.
I’m still culling over 5,000 wave images from that four-day trip. Every so often, the pieces come together. I hope you enjoy this first finished image. It certainly brought back memories of my first ocean beach 50 years ago.
I’ll be in the field frantically foraging for future Friday Foto fodder for a few days. Fear not, the Friday Photo will return in two weeks.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus