The Machinery of Night

Foto Friday: Shadowplay

Sunset from N. Kihei, Maui, Nov. 2008

The only really interesting thing about this picture are the "feathers" at the bottom. That's the shadow of the spray as the little wave breaks against the beach. I was surprised I was able to capture that -- especially during what must have been a fairly long exposure, 1/30 second or so -- but I've seen it in a couple of images since, so maybe it's not that hard. Or maybe 1/30 of a second is not that long.

The other day I went out to Ho'okipa where the weather was beautiful and there were many surfers. I took some pictures through the telephoto lens, though it will be a while before I have them processed (I'm trying to cut back on my film habit). I was able to use 1/1000 second on many of them, but I figure there will still be motion blur. I was taking pictures of surfers doing that thing at the top of the wave where they fishtail the board and the spray goes flying in an artistic fashion. And each time I found myself trying to "help" the surfer to reach the top by pushing him with my camera. I suspect that doesn't work.

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii