How To Make Spectacular Nature Photos: The Great Ocean Road
Spectacular nature photo of waves crashing over a rock, Great Ocean Road.
There’s nothing more dramatic than spectacular nature photos of powerful waves crashing into headlands or cascading over rock formations along the shoreline. Here’s the tips and techniques I’ve discovered over the years that will ensure you can produce really amazing pictures when your travel photography adventures take you to dramatic coastal locations.
Spectacular nature photos convey the power and fury of the elements. This is particularly the case along the coast where the ravages of wind, salt and water wage their never ending battle against rock formations along the shoreline at places like Australia's Great Ocean Road.
I made the above photo in the Port Campbell National Park near the famous Twelve Apostles, along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia.
Give yourself ample time to explore and you’ll also discover locations that will allow you to document the regions weather as well as the textures, shapes and colors along this wondrous stretch of road.
Making sure you’re out and about early and late in the day maximises your chances of making photos that will powerfully evoke your own, unique Great Ocean Road experience far better than straight documentary photos of iconic landmarks.
I made this series of images at day’s end. Sunset had come and gone along the Great Ocean Road and I was photographing during the twilight, before the landscape was consumed by darkness.
I was enthralled by the power of the waves as they crashed over the huge, flat rocks, once a part of the mainland.
I hope these images convey my impression of the turmoil of the incoming tide as it unfolded before me. As well as illustrating the awesome power of nature I wanted to create photos that explored the deep sense of mystery I experienced as the waves and rock seemed to merge into a single formless entity through the use of long exposure times.
As such I hope these images act as a metaphor for the transient nature of existence.
Spectacular nature photo of water cascading over huge rocks, Great Ocean Road.
Low Light Nature Photos Near Day’s End
I knew that the long exposure times required to make these photos under the low levels of ambient illumination I was photographing under would allow me to record the movement of the water around and over the rocks.
By closing down my lens aperture less light would reach the sensor and, as a consequence, the exposure time would be further extended.
It’s a simple technique, ideally suited to a relatively low ISO with the camera securely mounted to a sturdy tripod.
This suited my needs and produced the ephemeral images you see above. There’s no doubt the mood of these images is dependent upon the following:
The movement of the water recorded by very long (i.e., slow) shutter speeds
A black and white rendering of the original color images which helps remove the objects depicted from their usual reality, producing more mystical images
The long exposure times also meant that I didn’t need to fiddle with neutral density (i.e., ND) filters in the fading light. That made the process of making the images, in camera, much more efficient and far more enjoyable.
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How Photos Tell Stories, Explore Truths and Reveal Alternate Realities
Notice also that the first two photos in this post feel a little different. By reframing the scene the large, flat rock in the centre of the top image has been placed onto the right hand side of the frame in the second image.
I think these two photos demonstrate why it’s important to explore different options when it comes to framing your photos, in camera.
But what are these photos about?
Both photos feature large, flat rocks swept over by the incoming tide along Australia’s spectacular Great Ocean Road.
But both these photos have been rendered into black and white which, somehow, removes the scene depicted from the reality we’d normally perceive it in.
A similar phenomena occurs through the use of the long exposure times. Keeping the camera’s shutter open for an extended period of time has allowed me to record the movement of the tide as it sweeps onto and over the rocks, as well as the movement of the water as it’s buffeted, backwards and forwards, between the rocks.
These photos also explore relationships, which can be outlined as follows:
The relationship between a solid, immovable object against the transient and moving water
The relationship between the two rocks. Once a part of the same physical mass, but now being worn down and separated by the continuous action of the sea.
The relationship between rock and water which, over time, shapes and, erodes the rock into sand.
You might say that the first photo is about the resilience of the rock and the ongoing battle to wear it down that’s being undertaken by the sea.
However, the second photo explores the relationship between the two rocks as much as it does between the rocks and the sea.
The second photo is also a somewhat quieter image due to the warm tone I’ve added to the photo during post processing.
You see what you exclude from the frame can be as important as what you include. It all depends upon the story you want to tell. Sometimes, as the creator of the image, it’s very much your story that’s being told.
However, many dedicated landscape photographers will understand that their best photos are made by surrendering to the story nature unfolds within the bounds of the camera’s viewfinder.
The camera allows us to record the image. However, it’s the framing of the photographic composition, into which elements from the external world are composed by the artist/photographer, where the inherent truths and alternate realities within the image begin to be realized.
Post processing allows the artist/photographer to further reveal and preserve those unique and very personal truths.
“Good photos are made by technically proficient photographers.
Great photos are made by artists who surrender to the truth being revealed through the process of making photos.”
Spectacular nature photo of sandstone cliffs and sea, Great Ocean Road, Australia.
Great Ocean Road Attractions: Spectacular Nature Photos Await
Attractions along Australia’s Great Ocean Road are many and varied. But there’s no reason to limit yourself to relatively straightforward documentary photos of the most iconic locations that everyone else photographs.
By all means make those photos, though you’ll often find the experience of doing so around sunrise or sunset most rewarding.
But also consider photographing some of the more remote or less well known locations along the Great Ocean Road. Doing so will likely mean photographing in far less crowded locations, which is a gift in itself.
Of course it’s not just what you photograph, but how you go about making your photos, in camera and on the desktop, that makes all the difference.
I employed a Canon 5D camera and the telephoto capability of the Canon 85 mm f/1.2 L series USM lens to isolate the rocks and waves from the surrounding Southern Ocean in the first two photos in this post.
The final image in this post, the color photo which depicts the location from which all 3 photos were recorded, was made with a Canon 24 mm f/1.4 L series USM lens.
I like the image, though it’s more of a documentary photo as it helps place the viewer in a particular place and time.
My point is that it’s through our choice of lens focal length, composition, shutter speed and the decisions we make while post processing our photos (e.g., color or black and white) that we’re able to present very different perspectives, even different realities, from the world around us.
My advice is to explore a location creatively by making a series of photos that explore a variety of different elements, natural or man made, and your own, personal response to that location.
The more deeply your exploration goes the more fun you’ll have and the more you’ll be able to tune into your own, intuitive nature.
After all it’s your very own Great Ocean Road trip and your photos of the fabulous Port Campbell National Park that matter most. That’s why your photos need to come from within you, at least as much as they need to represent the world around you.
Rather than imitating the photos everyone else makes, strive to make photos that explore your own response to the world around you.
This is the demarcation point that separates straight, documentary photography from the more thoughtful and creative images made by the artist photographer. If in doubt, straddle the two by making photos that both document the world around you and point to other, more abstract notions.
I’ve written extensively about the notion of there being three types of images we photographs create. I refer to them as follows:
Photographing reality
Photographing suggestion
Photographing abstraction
My post, titled xxxxxxxxxxxx, outlines this concept. I think it’s a really interesting and informative read, and it’s illustrated with beautiful photos from xxxx, xxxx and xxxx.
Low Light Photography: Exploring Nature While Staying Safe
Low light photography is great fun. Nonetheless, working under such dim lighting can also be challenging.
You need to be able to work the various buttons and dials on your camera and, when your work is done, safely find your way back to the car.
There’s no point having a wonderful experience if you’re seriously hurt in the process. Likewise, it’s easy to drop expensive camera equipment or accessories in fading light.
Please ensure that, if you’re out and about making photos in the landscape, particularly near sunrise or sunset, you’re adequately equipped should you run into trouble.
At the very least I’d suggest you bring along the following:
A good headlamp with new or freshly charged batteries
Your mobile phone, also fully charged, and an understanding of how to use it to contact authorities in the case of an emergency
A warm top and a fleece hat, should you loose your way as night sets in
Some food (e.g., fruit, energy bars) and water in case you have to sit it out and wait for help or daylight before you’re able to retrace your steps back to the car
You’d be amazed just how easy it is to lose expensive camera equipment, car keys and even the path back to the car with the fast approach of night.
I remember not being able to find the bush track from the edge of Milford Sound in New Zealand back to the hotel after a long session photographing the night sky. Though the distance was short, I became completely disoriented and, becoming surrounded by the incoming tide, had to make my way back, in total darkness, knee deep through water.
It was a frightening and physically challenging experience I wouldn’t want to repeat.
Likewise, many years ago, I was photographing sunset on the top of Mount Buffalo in the Australian Alps. Before I knew it night had closed in and the powerful torch I’d brought with me stopped working almost immediately after I’d turned it on.
This is years before mobile phones existed, so I was in total darkness near the edge of a steep cliff face. Fortunately, I was able to remain calm and, after about 15 minutes effort, worked out how to swap the light bulb inside the torch.
I can tell you I was very relieved to find the nearby narrow walking track and make my way back to hotel, where staff had kindly left an evening meal for me in the kitchen. And boy did I enjoy that meal.
Night photography in the city presents its own challenges. You’re often so involved in the process of making photos that you become unaware of what’s going on around you.
Not only is your own safety, potentially, at risk but that fancy camera could make a tempting target for thieves.
You might want to protect yourself, somewhat, by undertaking all your night photography adventures with a friend.
Let’s all have great fun making photos. But let’s set ourselves up for success by being responsible about how we do so.
My own adventures have taught me to be better prepared and, whether possible, have alternate plans should things go awry. However, there really is something to be said for undertaking more potentially dangerous adventures into nature in the company of a reliable and capable friend.
