Infinity can be an Illusion
Canon 60D | f/18 | 3.2 sec. | ISO 100 | 24mm 2.8 | April 8, 2017, 7:53 pm
One of my favorite shots I’ve ever done, this capture came on my first trip to the Venice Fishing Pier in Venice, Florida in 2017.
Although we had lived here for almost 13 years by that point, this was my first trip to this pier. It’s situated directly in front of a wonderful Gulfside restaurant, Sharky’s on the Pier. A large place with tons of outdoor seating, seafood-lovers (and land grub lovers like myself) have plenty to look forward to when you combine the food, the atmosphere, and the view.
The scene was a combination of the sights, sounds and smells of the seaside restaurant, the impressive fishing pier, and the busy beach on either side of it. I had to wait an hour or so after we arrived, just because of how many tourists (and locals I’m sure) were hanging around the area I wanted to photograph, or walking through the frame as they strolled the beach.
Once the hustle and bustle had settled down a bit, I set my tripod up directly under the pier, almost as far back as I could go against the sane dunes. I knew I wanted a bit of a long-exposure shot, to capture some motion of the waves.
A different perspective of the same scene, capturing the soft, dark sand and beautiful blue water underneath the Venice pier.
Screwing on my EF 24mm 2.8 pancake lens, I set the ISO to 100, since I was shooting a long-exposure and knew the shutter speed would be extremely slow. I wanted a very full depth of field, keeping the entire scene in focus, so I used a very small aperture of f/18. The exposure ended up taking just over 3 seconds, and smoothed the water just enough to show the movement.
Although not too complicated of a shot, this did require me to stop and think a bit about the movement of the waves, and several attempts ended in hardly any motion at all. I probably went through 10 to 12 exposures before I got one I was pleased with. I accomplished my goal of capturing the dreamlike, ethereal qualities of the water moving around the pier supports.
If you ever have a chance to stop by the Venice pier and experience it, please do. And don’t forget to grab a drink or even lunch at Sharky’s while you’re there!
