Nature provides us with a never ending supply of inspiration, look no further than the coast for an array of majestic scenery. This article focuses on the point where land and sea meet, with 24 stunning waterscapes, essential tools of the trade.

Beauty of the Ocean

Taken in Jaffa, Israel using a 30 second exposure thereby freezing a slice of beautiful life.

Seaside road on an early morning shoot which results in an image that is both bold and vivid.

Shot in Kogelbay, South Africa it makes exceptional use of shutter speed to give an ethereal feel.

A stunning image that uses 4 different RAW conversions blended with various methods.

Shot in Sintra-Portugal using Photoshop to desaturate the tones to creating a dramatical feeling.

A beautifully shot sunset which has a superb contrast between the sky and pearlescent water.

Captured in Pellinge (an islet outside Porvoo in Finland), it’s both moody and vibrant.

An amazing capture of sunrise on the North East coast of Brazil, with very little post processing.

Shot in Finland at sunset, processed RAW in Photoshop then cropped, burned and dodged.

Captured in RAW in Portugal and then given small tweaks in contrast and vibrancy in Aperture.

An amazing capture of the movement of the waves and color variations in the sky in South Wales.

A beautiful image which perfectly captures the tones of Crystal Cove near Laguna Beach, California.

An 8 image stitch of sunset on a rainy afternoon at Redgate Beach in South Western Australia.

Sunrise over Pulpit Rock, Australia with the sky and water processed separately from one RAW file.

A beautiful capture of a cold winter dusk on Chios Island, Greece, it has a haunted somber feel.

A six image stitch of Coogee Bay with great movement in the water and drama in the sky.

Sunrise at Turimetta, Sydney, the contrast between the foreground and sky is just stunning.

Taken on Portugal’s south west coast with subtle adjustments to the vibrancy, colour and levels.

A beautiful evening at Troon, on the the Scottish coastline, with the Isle of Arran in the background.

An amazing shot as the sunsets behind the headland, casting beautiful light along the beach.

Captured in Jaffa, Israel with a short shutter speed, the exposure on the water is beautiful.

A two image stitch of Thistle Cove in Esperance with superb colors and detailed textures.

Captured in Noosa, Australia, the movement of water towards you is just stunning.

Capturing the beautiful light with an inspiring composition of The Sauzaie beach at Bretignolles.

Tools and Tips For Outstanding Waterscape Photography

One common practice in waterscape photography is learning to setup a good long-exposure shot. Done right, one can manipulate a waterscape into a near-mystical scene. An exposure of 3 seconds can lead to a photograph that captures the landscape and all of the action of a powerful ocean. A 30 second exposure can result in a peaceful, awe-inspiring capture that seems out of this world.

There are a few tools that are needed to take a fantastic waterscape photograph:

Treat Yourself to a High Quality DSLR Camera

A good camera accompanied by a high quality lens can go a long ways. If you’re interested in taking your photography to the next level, it may be time to invest in something other than an ordinary consumer handheld camera.

Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2MP ($632.88)

Another fine choice for starting photographers (includes the stock 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens).The additional $100 buys you several notable improvements from the XTi, plus an extra 2MP for slightly higher image resolution.

Nikon D90 12.3MP ($814.95)

The D90 made quite an entrance into the marketplace of Digital SLRs after it was announced that it included a High Definition (720p), smooth (24fps) video capture feature. It’s a Digital Camera, and Video Camera that performs incredibly well for its price tag. No lens included.

Get a Wide Angle Lens

When it comes to landscapes and waterscapes, a wide-angle lens is pretty much unparalleled in its ability to capture the essence of an environment. Anything in the 10-22 range is usually perfect, but these lenses often are expensive.

If you’re interested in learning more about lenses, check our article on Camera Lenses and Focal Length.

A Good Tripod

Since you’ll be working with long-exposures, it’s important that you keep the camera as still as possible during the capture. We don’t want anything except for the water to be moving to get the right effect in the picture.

You can learn some effective ways to reduce camera shake in your photographs, but in the end, a tripod is your best bet:

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Graduated Neutral Density Filters

Consider this: When shooting landscapes, you’ve probably noticed that if you try to set your exposure based on the sky (in daylight), you’ll greatly underexpose the ground. Similarly, if you set your exposure based on the land/sea, the sky becomes very overexposed.

This is where a graduated neural density (ND) filter comes in handy. These filters are placed over the lens, and gradually get darker from top to bottom so that less light comes in on one side of the lends (it is adjustable by the user to control which side has more light coming through). Using a filter like this, it’s possible to get a decent exposure on both the land/water, and the sky without heavy post-processing.

Read up more about these filters, and many others in our photography filters guide.

Share Your Tips!

We’d love to hear how you take waterscape photographs. If you’ve got any advice, handy tools, or favorite items, please share them in the comments!


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