When I think of "power" and "landscape", I immediately think of the sea. Serendipitously, I was on Phillip Island for a social event and the weather was wild and windy, so I headed for one of my favourite views on the island:
Seagull Rock, Phillip Island
Seagull Rock is a prominent, pyramid of basalt viewable from a lookout on the ironically named The Boulevard - the back road from The Nobbies (Pt Grant) to Summerland Beach (home of the 'Penguin Parade'). Worth a visit at any time of the year, this lookout provides a spectacular view both east and west along the rugged basalt south coast but IMHO it is at its best in the wild winter storms.
View west from Seagull Rock Lookout, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Pentax K1, Pentax 24-70mm f/2.8 lens with Nisi Circular Polariser, 3-stop ND and 2-stop Graduated ND filters
27mm, ISO 100, 0.8 seconds @ f/18
View east from Seagull Rock Lookout, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Pentax K1, Pentax 24-70mm f/2.8 lens with Nisi Circular Polariser and 2-stop Graduated ND filters
24mm, ISO 100, 1/25 second @ f/16
With the theme of "Power" for this shoot, I put a telephoto zoom (70-200mm) lens on the camera with a circular polariser to cut the glare off the water and bring out the cobalt blue and turquoise colours of the sea. I also varied the ISO and use of ND filters to change the shutter speed to either freeze the wave action
The roiling sea from Seagull Rock Lookout, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Pentax K1, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, Nisi Circular Polariser
170mm, ISO 800, 1/200 second @ f/18
or blur it
Wave crashing over rock from Seagull Rock Lookout, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Pentax K1, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, Nisi Circular Polariser
107.5mm, ISO 100, 1/2 second @ f/16
each providing a different impression of the power of the sea.
I came back later in the day when the tide was in and the wind had increased even further (where, at one point, it blew over my tripod and camera, which I fortunately managed to catch before it hit the ground) providing wilder views of the waves on the shore.
Wave crashing over rock platform from Seagull Rock Lookout, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Pentax K1, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens
200mm, ISO 800, 1/5000 second @ f/9
Waves crashing over rock platform from Seagull Rock Lookout, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Pentax K1, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens
70mm, ISO 400, 1/2000 second @ f/8
Wave from Seagull Rock Lookout, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
Pentax K1, Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens
140mm, ISO 400, 1/4000 second @ f/8
Checkout the video of this shoot (from my YouTube channel)
Let me know what you think in the comments below - constructive criticism and debate are always welcome.
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