Memorial Day in the US signals the beginning of the summer season which includes various activities : gas prices go up; the local pools open, teachers remember why they became teachers; parents start to drink a bit more; white is a fashion choice once again. Does anyone follow that half-assed fashion advice anymore? Of course not. We’ve been wearing white all year round for years. But the beginning of the summer also means fun at the beach; and fun at the beach means photography at the beach.
Being from Irish extraction I avoid the sun. I don’t tan. I burn. I freckle. I’ve been protecting myself from the sun since I was a teen. I tried doing the sunbathing schtick with my teen girlfriends to ready ourselves for the Prom or other important dances. Remember baby oil and iodine? What the hell were they thinking? I lasted 10 minutes, tops. Ever since then being in the sun for me meant covering up. Or finding shade. I forgot one year when we took our kids in early May to Disney World. I ended up with an itchy, painful sun rash. When I took my own kids to the neighborhood pool my friends called me Gauze Lady. But it paid off. I’m 79 but I look 78.
My current beach activity
In addition to reading and finding shade, my favorite beach activity is photography. It’s just like street photography but with sand…..and families. If you’ve been following me for a short time you know that photographing people is my passion, especially faces. I like landscape photography but shooting people (No, NRA, I don’t want to be a member) with my truth-telling lens is what gets my juices flowing.
Good vignette in photography at the beach
Part of the fun of photography is I’m constantly learning. I discover much of what I use at photo workshops or by following great photographers like Sam Abell, Steve McCurry, Dorthea Lange, Annie Liebowitz. While I was photographing some of theses images I was looking for a great vignette to photograph at the beach. I’m looking for depth. I want a great foreground, mid ground and background. And it’s a super bonus if there is activity in each part. I want the viewers eye to go all around the frame. It’s not always easy to find. Many times it just requires waiting and a lot of patience.
Families at the beach mean photography at the beach. In the foreground and mid ground you can capture beachgoers building sand castles, swimming, wading, throwing a ball, fighting with their little brother, the dreaded sun bathing, reading, flying a kite, picnics.
Beach rules
Speaking of eating, remember when your parents made you wait an hour after eating before you went back in the water? My dad had us convinced he knew exactly how long we needed to wait depending on what we consumed. Hot dog? 45 minutes. A piece of fruit? ten minutes. An ice cream cone? 25 minutes. We believed him like he was quoting scripture….not that we Catholics ever read scripture.
Good background interest can include other swimmers, sail boats, surfers, or sharks. It’s ripe for storytelling. Here are a few that I shot last summer at a popular Wisconsin beach while on a photo workshop in Door County: No sharks that day. Click for for full view.
When my grandkids were younger I used to take them to a local beach. They were my guinea pigs for getting the shots I wanted. Built in subjects for documentary photography. They were so used to me photographing them they didn’t even pay attention to me. Now some are university graduates and off living and working in other cities or going to grad school. It takes a bit more effort to get the scenes I want.
But the learning goes on. I’m a complete believer in Kenneth H. Blanchard’s quote: “When you stop learning you stop growing.”
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