Using shallow depth of field for Pebble Beach sunset photography
It was a beautiful evening here in the Pebble Beach area so I took my camera to one of my favorite spots along 17 Mile Drive, Bird Rock. I already had the Sony 50mm f/1.2 lens on my camera from a shoot the day before, so I left that on, to get a different perspective for sunset photography, and I knew before going there I did want to shoot at f/1.2 for shallow DoF shots. Then I saw these flowers growing atop a small cliff, and used them as the focal point and let the sun go out of focus. This extreme difference in foreground and background focus interests me and I feel reveals a different world.
If you asked me, I would tell you that a tripod is a must for making long exposure photos. In fact, I have already shared some long exposure ocean photos from San Diego featuring the Ocean Beach Pier that were all shot with my Nikon mounted on a tripod. That said, if getting a tack sharp image is not needed, handholding a slightly long exposure photo, especially with a lens that has VR (vibration reduction), can produce some very cool shots. The latter was the method I used to hold my Nikon right above the incoming water at Imperial Beach, San Diego, California at sunset. Why do a long exposure? Because it makes the water look like stretched out cotton. In the above shot you might easily think it was taken from a boat in deep water, when in reality it was me in less than ankle deep water letting that few inches of water whoosh past me as the camera’s shutter stayed open for 1/6th of a second.
