JoshuaR
Leading Member
Once or twice a day, I spend some time with my small son on a little beach near our house. It’s not the ocean, but a sort of marshy wetland. Lots of birds, boats, waves, rocks, shells, and plants. Spending time there has been one of the bright spots of the pandemic for me, made possible because of working from home, and I expect to be able to keep doing it for another year at least. I’ve taken a lot of pictures of my son and his sandcastles.
I have no experience as a nature or landscape photographer. But I keep thinking that my daily beach hangout should be an opportunity to grow and try it out. I’m pretty much rooted to one spot—the spot where my son plays—although sometimes we go down to a small marina, too. It’s not really a walking opportunity. But I’m there for an hour or more in total each day, sometimes both morning and evening.
One idea I’ve had is to try out bird photography with a tele-zoom. Last year I bought and sold a 50-230; it was cool, but it seemed like the reach wasn’t quite enough. That said, it was winter, and I had no idea what I was doing. I’ve been asking myself if a 70-300, in summer and fall, could be something worth trying. Maybe I could get shots of ducks, geese, and egrets. Or just capture the woods and water in different light.
I’ve also been wondering about macro. Would it be fun to try it out repeatedly in one small stretch of beach? I’ve seen copies of the 60 on eBay for not too much. Should I try that out? Could I use the 70-300 for a kind of pseudo-macro?
Also, I sometimes kayak, and in the past have taken pictures while on the water. And nearby there are ospreys, swans, and so on. It's quite a rich area! I do explore it without my son in tow, and photograph it—but the time I'm looking to take advantage of is this stationary time, just hanging out almost daily on the same stretch of water.
I’m curious about your gear thoughts. But also, I’d be grateful for advice about how to approach this scenario artistically. What I’d like most is to come up with some sort of project related to this area. Maybe it’s photos of the shells, or something about photographing the same stretch of beach for all four seasons. I wonder if any of you have done something along those lines? I am mainly a people photographer, and would value all sorts of input.
Here are a few snapshots of the area I’m talking about—not necessarily good pictures, but they represent the place pretty well.
Lots of boats.
Sunrise.
Birds and fog.
The small marina.
A house across the water.
Ducks.
I have no experience as a nature or landscape photographer. But I keep thinking that my daily beach hangout should be an opportunity to grow and try it out. I’m pretty much rooted to one spot—the spot where my son plays—although sometimes we go down to a small marina, too. It’s not really a walking opportunity. But I’m there for an hour or more in total each day, sometimes both morning and evening.
One idea I’ve had is to try out bird photography with a tele-zoom. Last year I bought and sold a 50-230; it was cool, but it seemed like the reach wasn’t quite enough. That said, it was winter, and I had no idea what I was doing. I’ve been asking myself if a 70-300, in summer and fall, could be something worth trying. Maybe I could get shots of ducks, geese, and egrets. Or just capture the woods and water in different light.
I’ve also been wondering about macro. Would it be fun to try it out repeatedly in one small stretch of beach? I’ve seen copies of the 60 on eBay for not too much. Should I try that out? Could I use the 70-300 for a kind of pseudo-macro?
Also, I sometimes kayak, and in the past have taken pictures while on the water. And nearby there are ospreys, swans, and so on. It's quite a rich area! I do explore it without my son in tow, and photograph it—but the time I'm looking to take advantage of is this stationary time, just hanging out almost daily on the same stretch of water.
I’m curious about your gear thoughts. But also, I’d be grateful for advice about how to approach this scenario artistically. What I’d like most is to come up with some sort of project related to this area. Maybe it’s photos of the shells, or something about photographing the same stretch of beach for all four seasons. I wonder if any of you have done something along those lines? I am mainly a people photographer, and would value all sorts of input.
Here are a few snapshots of the area I’m talking about—not necessarily good pictures, but they represent the place pretty well.
Lots of boats.
Sunrise.
Birds and fog.
The small marina.
A house across the water.
Ducks.
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