Sunset over Lifeguard Tower 1 at Clearwater Beach, Florida.
I love the ocean and a long span of beach. For those reasons, one of my favorite places to spend time is Clearwater Beach, Florida. With its boardwalk, white sand beaches, surf side bars and restaurants with incredible sunset views, Clearwater is a great place to escape to. Recently, I had an assignment in New Port Richey, Florida, a northern Tampa suburb. I purposely booked a 6 a.m. flight, with a 4 a.m. wake up, so I could be in the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete area by noon, escaping the Indiana winter for a short 36 hours.
I booked a flight and found a nice beachside hotel on the southern end of Clearwater Beach. After a quick stop for supplies for the following day’s shoot, I crossed the causeway, found my hotel and parked the car for the rest of the day. My afternoon consisted of a nice walk north to Frenchy’s and The Pavilion for a fresh grouper sandwich and a few rounds of Landshark, Bluemoon and Guiness. On the way back to the hotel, I spotted a few spots toward the setting sun that looked like possible shooting spots for a nice beach sunset shot.
On a routine assignment for the trade magazine I shoot for, I typically can’t afford to bring a tripod. Thanks to Southwest’s free bags policy, this time I could. I brought the tripod on this trip for the sole purpose of trying to capture a long exposure shot on the beach as the sun set. As I moved around framing up scenes and snapping an occasional test shot, I decided to use a wide angle lens and set up close to lifeguard tower. I thought the clouds were going to create a spectacular sunset, but as the sun dipped below the horizon and the evening breeze started blowing in from the Gulf, the clouds dissipated and a crisp horizon appeared. I spent about an hour chasing a balance of foreground exposure and setting sun. As my exposures grew longer, I noticed that I would occasionally get a light painting effect from passing traffic turning onto the road behind me.
Looking forward to using some of the things learned and playing with light painting during similar long exposures.
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