Wild Waves of The Sea

Ocean Isle Beach Pier, North Carolina. [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 30, ƒ/8, (35mm = 52)]

wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

Jude 1:13

“Stanley don’t post any photos of me like this,” is what I hear each year when I am at the beach with my family. No one wants to have the world see them when they don’t look their best.

People take a lot of time in front of mirrors getting ready each day and now we have tons of videos on how you can look even better with some tips from the poster.

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 560, 1/1000, ƒ/16, (35mm = 24)]

I have noticed that everything has times of the day when they don’t look their best. Just the middle of the night there isn’t enough light to see much, but the middle of the day doesn’t give you the best light either.

Pier at Night Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 30, ƒ/18, (35mm = 90)]

I find there isn’t a guaranteed best time of day to photograph everything. My suggestion for nature is to visit the same spot over time, with different seasons, different weather, and time of day.

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 160, 1/1000, ƒ/4, (35mm = 28)]

Change the lens choice as well for the subject. Get close and then step back. Get low like a worm and high like a bird.

2019 Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, VR Zoom 24-105mm f/4G IF-ED, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 1/800, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 105)]

C.K. Williams said that his poem, The Hearth (in The Singing), took twenty-five years to complete. I can see someone returning to a location for years trying to find the right moment that captures what continually pulls them back to that place.

The concept of previsualization in photography is where the photographer can see the final print before the image has been captured. Ansel Adams dedicates the beginning of his first book to previsualization, and is often quoted as saying “Visualization is the single most important factor in photography”.

I believe even before previsualization a photographer is just emotionally moved by a scene. It takes time to connect the head to the heart.

2019 Early morning walk on the beach at Ocean Isle, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, VR Zoom 24-105mm f/4G IF-ED, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 110, 1/250, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 48)]

Some places we return to are places where our earliest times are not even clear memories. The North Carolina beach is that place for me. My family has been coming long before I was born.

My grandmother rented a house for all of her 7 children and their families long ago. This is where I would first go and experience the beach.

So the beach for me is connected to family and the memories of my childhood.

Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 1/2500, ƒ/4, (35mm = 58)]

When I see a man fishing in the surf it brings up memories of my day and my mother’s dad fishing along the beach.

2019 Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, VR Zoom 24-105mm f/4G IF-ED, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 1/2000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 105)]

I have always been fascinated by an image being able to conjure the past. Nostalgia is much more than mere reminiscing; it’s a feeling. “Nostalgia is the warm, fuzzy emotion that we feel when we think about fond memories from our past,” explains Erica Hepper, Ph. D., a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey in England. … A lot can be said for nostalgia’s benefits.

Pier at Night Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 30, ƒ/11, (35mm = 105)]

So last night I ventured out at sunset and photographed the Ocean Isle Beach pier. By using a tripod and low ISO I was taking long-exposure photos. When we are creating a long exposure shot, the camera averages what it sees over time. And if we are standing at sea level with unrest water, the camera sees the waves. … In the end, it creates a foggy effect – the water doesn’t look like water anymore, it looks like fog.

You rule the swelling of the sea;

When its waves rise, You still them.

Psalm 89:9
Pier at Night Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 20, ƒ/22, (35mm = 68)]

By the way, for these nighttime photos, people were walking through. If they stayed a while in a spot then they showed up as you see here.

Pier at Night Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Leary Family Vacation [NIKON Z 6, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 20, ƒ/22, (35mm = 68)]

This is a closeup of the photo above of the people staying somewhat still.