Photographs on the Water

Certain environments lend themselves as better photographic subjects than others. The waterfront is one such environment, whether it's the vast oceans, calm bays, lazy rivers or busy harbors. So the next time you find yourself and your camera on the waterfront—at a marina, pier or shoreline, follow a few simple tips to get great photographs.


Boats, with their many interesting angles, shapes and accessories, make great subjects. With boats bobbing gently in their slips, capturing beautiful shots is easy. Just be sure to time it right. As with any photograph you take, the better the light, the better the image. Take advantage of the reflective quality of water. Try shooting in more than one direction, paying particular attention to the position of the sun. When you shoot early in the morning or late in the day, long shadows cast by boats and other objects can add to the interest in your photographs. You can also use the lighting to your advantage to get great reflections, as well as silhouettes.


You can use the light as a tool to make a photograph that appears monochromatic. Monochrome usually refers to B&W but it can also refer to an image that features only one color. For example, if you shoot a silhouette of a lone sailboat in the middle of the water and both the sky and water are shades of blue, you've made a monochromatic image with blue tones. Photographing at sunset can offer up warm monochromes with shades of only oranges, yellows or reds.


And don't forget about black and white. Changing your image from color to black and white can really highlight the subject and give your photograph a more artistic feel. You can set your camera to the B&W or monochromatic setting, or convert your color image to B&W with software once you're back at your computer.


Zoom in on Details


The waterfront is a great place to make some attention-grabbing close-ups. See how close your lens can focus. If you have one, use a Micro-NIKKOR (macro) lens to fill the frame with your subject. Some of the things that make for great macro photos are buildings or boats with chipped or peeling paint, the texture of aged wood or rusted metal, brightly colored objects, such as buoys and floats, and unique signage.


A visit to a busy harbor filled with boats may seem chaotic at first, but when you take a closer look, you'll see there is actually some organization. Boats lined up in their slips or moored off-shore can provide you with repeating patterns that can be captured with a wide-angle lens. Don't just shoot the obvious or the first thing that catches your eye. Look for patterns in the ropes or other gear that may be laid out on a dock or boat's deck. If the tide is low enough and there is a safe area of beach beneath a pier, you can make great photographs using the shape of the pilings and shadows falling on the sand. You can also make interesting photos of the texture and shapes of shells, seaweed, driftwood, rocky shorelines or sand dunes.