Friday, January 21, 2011

1/29/2011, Santa Barbara Harbor 6:00AM

January 29, 2011 Santa Barbara Harbor 6:00AM

Yes, that’s right it is another Dawn Patrol event. Sunrise at the harbor. I’ve never been there at this time of day but I just know there will be something interesting. Since it is Saturday, businesses that use the harbor will be at a minimum and personal boaters probably won’t be up that early to take off, so the place should be pretty quite or pretty and quiet.




But I know what you are thinking. Do I have to get up that early to make good photographs? The simple answer is yes.

The sunrise will be around 6:52AM. It is good to be there before that actual time to get those photographs of reflections, like of the sky off the water. After the sun gets over the horizon look for long shadows and streaks of light that will show you subjects as the illumination grows to full sun. By 8:00AM the sun will be full in the sky and our shooting opportunities will be waning, but you could still find interesting subjects in the way of portraits using the full shade on the side of a building that has reflection lighting it up from nearby walls or water. Look for those opportunities and don’t be afraid to ask the locals that might be making their first appearance, to move there and pose for you, to get best results.




Don’t forget to bring a tripod and a cable release if you want to try one for those longer time exposures early in the morning.

Look for the Airstream, we will be using it again as our headquarters. I will most likely be parked on Cabrillo near Castillo Street. And once again Brooks Institute has offered their Cota Street Campus computer lab for us to use after our morning Safari to talk about the images captured or anything else everyone wants to cover, like file management, Photoshop tips, or Lightroom cataloguing.

To see more of my work visit www.eliotcrowley.com