
The rocks appear at low tide, Fernwood Beach
Just a brief moment of light illuminates the rocks and casts long sunrise shadows. Then it was gone.
Salt Spring Photographer John Cameron

The rocks appear at low tide, Fernwood Beach
Just a brief moment of light illuminates the rocks and casts long sunrise shadows. Then it was gone.

Early morning, Fernwood pier.
Sometimes what you see is what you get. I saw reflection first, then shimmering light, then gentle wave action. And the strong lines. And the muted colour.
I had a longish lens on my camera (300mm) and no tripod (lazy). There was very little light at that time of day so I used a fast ‘film’ (ISO 1600) and a fast shutter speed (1/1000 sec). My camera’s exposure meter told me the ‘correct’ exposure but I didn’t agree (too bright said I, giving it half the suggested light instead).
The camera’s LCD showed me a 3 inch version of the scene. Looked like what I saw. I liked what I saw.
On the fancy big monitor at home it looked exactly what my mind’s eye saw. Incredible colour, lovely expressionist look. Sorry you are seeing a dumbed down, crunched web version. Some day I have to get back to making some decent sized prints…
No digital editing was done on this image, beyond the wide compositional crop.
Sometimes what you see is what you get.
afterthought:
Within many blogs I frequent I notice a growing sentiment that digital is too easy. That you need to shoot film in order to slow down. Shoot less and think more. Nonsense says I. It’s all in your head. One of the big problems with blogs is that they are populated by opinions based on individual situation and experience—and sometimes limited focus and background. And besides, the camera doesn’t take the photo; you do. It’s all in your head…

Today’s photo is brought to you by the colour orange. A gorgeous clear pre-dawn sky over Trincomali Channel and Galiano Island as seen from north Salt Spring Island.


A woman watches the July sunrise from Fernwood Beach. The trees along North Beach Road are reflected in the warm morning light.
I like this image uncropped as above. But there’s a saying, “Get closer, then get closer again.” Below, the area above the beach has been cropped out:

Cropping further, it’s just the reflection:

Do you have a preference?
Photographs of Salt Spring Island and areas reachable by ferry and road (and sometimes off-road).