Friday Photo #219 – Unstad Beach

Photo: Outflowing waves on Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 21, 2017. 10:08

While the storm of the previous days had mostly calmed, the weather was still anything but good and snow was forecast for the afternoon. Mornings are easy in January, with the late arrival of the sun allowing for plenty of sleep, or time to get to destinations. Having been to several other beaches the previous day, Unstad was on the list for this morning.

Arriving, the beach was nice enough looking and near low tide. The wind was offshore and the waves were big enough to create some nice action among the rocks. The sky, well, that left something to be desired and it was evident there would be no color on this morning. So, working with what I had, the waves and rocks were the best subject, with just a little bit of the holy mountain in the scene for a sense of place.

I knew I wanted a relatively short shutter speed to capture both movement of the water yet still retaining some detail and shape. Too slow and there will just be a haze of white. Too fast and there wont be any movement or flow. The white of the water and the black of the rocks created enough contrast in the otherwise completely flat light.

Overall this is nothing special, but I think it made the best of otherwise poor conditions – which there have been a lot of this winter!

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 50
f 14
1.3 second
WB Daylight