beach – The Graceful Image http://thegracefulimage.com Photography by Zev Steinhardt Wed, 01 Jan 2020 20:52:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.13 The Things You’ve Got To Do To Get The Shot http://thegracefulimage.com/the-things-youve-got-to-do-to-get-the-shot/ Thu, 02 Feb 2017 12:40:10 +0000 http://thegracefulimage.com/?p=892 Most people, to the best of my knowledge, prefer to go to the beach during the summer.  Yet, somehow, I found myself at Brighton Beach on a cold, wintry morning last month.  What’s worse, I was there while it was still dark out.  I was there to capture the sunrise, so, of course, I had to get there at an hour when most others are huddled under their blankets in their heated homes.

It’s often been said that half the battle is won by simply showing up, and in photography, that’s no different.  Half the battle of making a photograph is simply showing up and putting yourself in the position to be able to take the shot.  Sometimes that means getting up at some miserable hour of the night to drive several hours to get to a site before sunrise and the golden hour.  Sometimes it means hiking a distance  you’d rather you didn’t have to.  Sometimes it means just putting in the hard work to make sure all the elements of a shoot at home are in place and ready to go.

I’m not going to tell you that great shots can’t be had by happenstance and without preparation.  We all have an example of a “lucky shot” that we got simply by accident.  But those are few and far between, and you cannot count on chance to provide you with great shot opportunities on a regular basis.  To rise above, to be able to take better shots on a consistent basis, you have to put in the work and plan towards those shots.

As for my beach shoot — well, I worked towards it, planned it and did what I had to do to get the best shots possible.  How’d it turn out?  Well… you tell me.  Here’s what I shot that cold, January morning at Brighton Beach:

 

 

]]> Fire Island Lighthouse http://thegracefulimage.com/fire-island-lighthouse/ Thu, 28 May 2015 12:39:44 +0000 http://thegracefulimage.com/?p=590 I’ve taken pictures of many types of buildings in my past, but one that I hadn’t shot before was a lighthouse.  That is, until last week.

I arrived on a late Sunday afternoon (even I know better than to show up at a beach area on a beautiful Sunday at midday!) and began shooting.

One of the first sights that I saw was this guy sitting on a sign and couldn’t help but take his picture:

Bird on a Sign

 

There’s a bit of a walk between the parking lot and the actual lighthouse.  At first, my lazy self was upset about having to walk all the way there, but the photographer in me actually began to appreciate it.  If I was able to park right at the lighthouse, I wouldn’t have gotten some of the shots that I did.  The long walk to the lighthouse gave me some time to consider different angles and compositions as I approached it.

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My one major regret was not getting a shot with the sun setting in the top of the lighthouse.  Sadly, the angle of the sun was all wrong for that and in order to get it right, I’d have to go into areas which were off limits.  I’ll have to try again another time of year.

Zev

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