Lead, Kindly Light

To Be Shore, To Be Shore

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I often get asked by up-and-coming photographers when they should use a long lens. My reply is always the same: follow your instinct. What was your attention drawn to? A detail from the scene in front of you? Then zoom in on the detail. Was your attention drawn to the vista as a whole? Then focus on the entire scene.

Often, there is merit in both. This picture (above) was taken at St Kilda beach on a September afternoon when the wind was whipping the waves into whitecaps. I wanted to capture the entire scene, the blue sky, the scudding feathers of cloud, the lighthouse and the sweep of the beach.

I use a Sigma 18-125mm lens, which gives me a great range of options. It telescopes beautifully, so it's easy to carry. Immediately after I took the first shot, I unfurled the 125mm lens and took the second shot (below) from exactly the same spot. There's merit in both shots, which brings me back to my original message. Follow your instincts. You'll never go wrong.

Jack Be Nimbus, Jack Be Quick

Jack Grab The Camera, And Just Go Click

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This shot was taken at St Kilda beach, here in Melbourne. Despite the blue sky, it was practically blowing a gale and so the light conditions, as well as the cloud, were changing constantly. I was concentrating on the sky to see if I could get any special images and I shot a lot of silhouettes and skyscapes. I was also shooting fairly quickly. Later, I looked through my camera data as I always do - and I was interested to see that I had shot about 120 frames in about 40 minutes.

In that time I walked probably three or four kilometres as well, so I was shooting three frames a minute (or one every twenty seconds) even taking into account the fact that I was moving about constantly, looking for new vantage points.

But halfway through the session, I noticed this glow of the sun through the cloud. I was very lucky. Not only did I get a frame of translucent cloud, but I was in the right spot for some other add-ons. A pure skyscape is one thing, but when you can add certain elements to the frame, you have hit the jackpot. I was able to get the palm trees in silhouette, as well as the graceful light poles and even the head-and-shoulders profiles of a couple of beach walkers.