Attempting Ocean Photography

Ocean photography is struggle city for me. So kudos to you studs out there who thrive in this environment. It’s no shocker that I've come accustomed to the pool space for many duh-reasons. Like: controlled area, lane lines to chill on, a pool deck to hop in and out of, people close by to assist–you know, the easier life. I guess any kind of complications can come with any kind of shoot. But all in all, the pool is familiar territory. The ocean is not. Lakes? Meh, indifferent.

There’s only been three times I’ve gone and done open water shoots. I wouldn’t say it was often a need for FINIS nor did we have the dreamiest of locations to simply go and capture the beauty of open water swimming. And if we really needed something that was island vibes, I generally outsourced to those who mastered the space. The first time I went out to give it a go, I had no idea what I was doing. I was new to underwater photography and couldn't seem to figure out how to deal with focusing on my subject when the water wasn’t crystal clear. We also didn’t speak the same language, so directing on top of that was a bit tough. My second time, I kept getting stung by sea lice, and also got sea sick while the waves rocked me and I tried to focus through my camera. This picture is from my third time. And even though I encountered a lot of the same difficulties, and eventually had to stop due to the beginning of sea sickness (which I really didn’t think would happen again)–I did a lot better. And shoot by shoot, I’m getting a little bit more familiar. Not having a location like this in my backyard makes my speed of improvement fairly slow, but hopefully soon I can attempt number four.