Photo Alchemy
Photo AlchemyThe workbench
Collage and montageCut and rebuilt
African Art FusionWith Simon Shone
Just added
SeascapesThe ocean in long exposureTwenty seven collections, and more being added
Photo AlchemyThe workbenchCollage and montageCut and rebuiltAfrican Art FusionWith Simon ShoneSeascapesThe ocean in long exposure
The South African coast in long exposure and in movement: five series made where the ocean meets the land, from De Hoop to Scarborough and Cape Point.
"What makes the ocean and its shorelines so attractive is the moving water. I enjoy photographing inland just as much, where the water is a lot more still, but the ocean moves aggressively, and it has tides."
"That means you are forever working with a different condition. Your foregrounds change throughout the day with the tide. Your light is changing. And on top of that the ocean itself changes with the size of the swell. Every time you go out to a particular point, no matter how many times you have tried to photograph it, it will always be different."
"So I choose techniques with neutral density filters. You can change the look and the feel by slowing the exposure down or by speeding it up. Either way, you have a lot to work with."
Seascape on Eden No.2
The four Cape of Storms photographs were made at Lekkerwater, in the De Hoop Nature Reserve, on the Whale Trail.
"What makes this area so interesting is the shelves the tide comes in over. As the tide goes out the shelves start to appear, and they normally hold pools of water that have stayed behind. So now you have still water combined with moving water."
"I like to photograph it in winter, when the cold fronts come through at regular intervals and bring in this beautiful blue, moody light. The area is pristine, and I think that is what makes it so special."
"Because the land drops off into the sea quite steeply, the shelves sit at different heights, which gives an almost waterfall, cascading look over the rock, and in some places there are blowholes as well."
"The sky is part of the landscape in any seascape. You have to consider what the sky is going to do. In winter, with the fronts moving through, there is always activity out at sea in the clouds, so you have a lot to work with."
Lekkerwater is a place Martin would like to teach a workshop one day. Nothing is scheduled yet.
"I must sound like a broken record when I am teaching photography. Over and over again I plead with my students: don't let your tripod dictate your composition. Take the time to determine the best spot to photograph from, and then place your tripod. This photograph is a really good example of what I am trying to say."
"Using a dark grey filter, I was able to get the exposure time down to about six seconds, but the best vantage point was about ten metres into the surf. Fortunately I have a really solid tripod, so when the tide was out I placed it in the ideal spot and pressed it deep into the sand, which is very important when you have an expensive camera and lens at risk."
"Just before a set of large waves came through I started the exposure. With careful timing I was able to record the backwash of the wave as it pulled back down into the ocean. The weather on the day was cold and moody, just perfect for this type of photography. As for getting a bit wet, well, that is a small price to pay."
Seascape on Eden No.1
"In this collection I really want to emphasise the wonderful beauty of the shoreline, where ocean meets landmass. The dynamics of moving water, heavy cloud cover and surrounding mountains are just too beautiful."
Photographed at Scarborough on the Cape Peninsula, on a shelly beach near Camps Bay in a mid winter storm, and near De Hoop on the south coast just after sunset.
"Shoreline Impression is intentional camera movement, a combination of a long exposure and movement of the camera. The challenge is to wait for different weather and different light, otherwise a series like this could become quite monotonous. That is why I have shared the series with Samantha Lee Osner, so that we could both contribute towards it for our gallery."
The three shown here are Martin's. Samantha Lee Osner's are on her own website.
"One picture takes quite some time, because it hardly ever works out perfectly. With a moving ocean there are so many contributing and changing factors that what you walk away with is normally very different from what you were going for in the first place."
"You go in with a slightly preconceived idea. You have seen the shoreline before, you have scouted the area, you know where the light comes from in the morning and in the evening, you have checked the weather and made sure everything is worked out. Then you get there and it is different, and that is the exciting part of this type of photography."
"It is a combination of tides, cold fronts, first and last light, and the wind, which you have to work very hard to negotiate, especially when there is so much of it that it shakes the camera. All of this has to be worked out."
Classic Black and White is a series photographed in tribute to Ansel Adams, whom Martin regards as his mentor. Four of its pictures belong to the ocean: Misty Cliffs on the Cape Peninsula, where the haze does the work that a colour picture would have to invent; Moonlight Bay, the moodiest of them; Jacob's Bay up the West Coast, white water and black rock with nothing else asked to carry it; and Castle Rock.
Long exposures in soft single tones, each a quiet study in the power of simplicity in composition. Three of the series are shown here. Each is a limited edition of 50, signed and numbered.
Every seascape here is a signed print from Osner Art Gallery, shipped worldwide. Complex Simplicity is a limited edition of 50, signed and numbered, and the other series are signed open editions. If you would rather make your own, Martin teaches long exposure and camera movement on the coast during the Landscape Photography Course in Stilbaai, 18 to 22 October 2027.
See the seascape prints in the gallery See the Stilbaai course
