2016 Walk-About Photography Event - Saturday, February 5, 2016 Huntington Beach Pier
61 Main St. corner of Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach, California

http://moknowsphotos.com/HuntingtonPier2016/

Two-part photo walk-about at Huntington Beach Pier Main St. and Pacific Coast Highway (8.5 miles from Crowne Plaza).  As it gets dark, the second part will have participants photographing the pier with the sun setting.   Members will need to register for one or both parts of the Walk-About when registering for the event in order to receive further information regarding these activities. Those attending will need to pay $1.50 per hour, to a $15.00 daily maximum, for Beach parking. Participants will be asked to submit some of their Walk-About photos to be posted on the Chapter web site following the event. 

The following notes are from Carl Morrison, Carl@TrainWeb.com, 714 225-8463
 
•  The best chance for a parking space at Huntington Beach Pier, California, is the Sixth Street entrance off PCH, first light northwest of the Main Street pier entrance.  At the stoplight turn toward the beach, downhill, and you will find spaces in the tiered parking lot.  Pay at a machine.  Machines take credit cards.  $1.50 per hour.  Handicapped parking is free at this lot, or any parking machine lot in town. Put the receipt on your driver’s side dash board. (photo below)  From the lot, walk down to the beach and follow the paved path to the left, under the pier (taking photos as you go if you wish) to the first Lifeguard Tower No. 1.

Look for these members of the Anaheim Camera EnthusiastS (ACES) for photo tips:


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Carl Morrison, English
(look for same jacket and hat)
Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Tamron 18-270mm 1:3.5-6.3 DiII
Sunpak Pro 423PX tripod
iPhone 6+

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James Wat
English, Mandarin and Cantonese
Leica M9
SONY A7
Nikon D810
Hasselblad
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Bob Webber
(look for same jacket)
English, Spanish
Nikon D800 Nikon 16-35mm 1.4 lens.

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Curtis Choe
English, Korean
Canon 1Dx,
5D Mark III and II.

•  Check in with Carl Morrison (photo above) at Lifeguard Tower No. 1, southeast/left of the pier.  I will be there starting at 4:30, sunset is at 5:26, the pier lights come on 15 min. after sunset. Even with my night movie below, I left an hour after sunset, that would be 6:30 this evening.  Therefore, 4:30 to 6:30 will be the sponsored time for this event.  You may come earlier and stay later, There are several eating and drinking establishments directly north of the pier, up Main St.

•  Suggested equipment for this Huntington Pier Sunset shoot:  DSLR camera with live-view screen and self-timer (or your preferred camera); Circular Polarizing Filter (for sky/cloud contrast and water reflection adjustments) or at least UV filter to protect your primary lens from salt spray; Tripod for stabilization and multi-shots of surfers walking by or HDR; Cover for your camera while not in use (I use my hat). 

•  Dress for cool, damp, breezy weather.  (Carl and Bob's photos above were both made while we were at the pier.)  You will be walking on dry and wet sand.  Wheelchairs can easily use the pier and paved trail at the back of the beach, but it is about 50 yards across the dry sands to the waves. The trail runs under the pier for photo like I have below.

•  Current Huntington Beach conditions:  http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/residents/beach_info/

•  The following photos were taken from the sand.  I walked out to where the waves were rolling onto the sand.  I took these photos from a location under the pier to the second Life Guard Tower (Number 3) on the southeast side of the pier.

•  From the dry sand, with a tripod, I used 18 mm to 130 mm range of my lens:  18 mm - 270 mm (times 1.6).

•  Sunset this day was at 5:07.  My first photo was at 4:46 and my last photo was at 6:10.  I paid for 3 hrs. parking, but two would have been sufficient.

•  Reminder:  Protect your camera and lens from the salty breeze. More than just a lens cap.  Use a moist lens towelette during the shoot.

•  Please send some photos from this afternoon's Pier Walk-About.  Please include some of the surfers as well so we can make a photo CD in appreciation of their being available, to:  Carl@TrainWeb.com   Subject:  HB Pier photos 2/5/2016 by (first and last name)  Put your copyright in the lower right corner of all photos.  Size the photos no larger than 1024 on any side.  Submitting photos signifies permission to be published in PSA and ACES publications.


(Click any photo below and the image will appear on a black background; Click BACK in your browser to return to this webpage.)

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17 minutes before sunset.  Between Lifeguard Tower 1 and 3 south of the pier.  Surfers were entering the water at the base of the pier and coming ashore about lifeguard tower No. 3, then walking back toward the pier to reenter the water.  I photographed them as they passed in front of me.  Foreground sand cropped as well as much sky.

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More sky and more wet sand, no surfer

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Unsolicited models

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Nearer Lifeguard Tower 3 the sun is near Ruby's on the end of the pier.  130 mm

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Shoot verticals for future magazine cover or phone or tablet lockscreen photos.

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HDR of photographers near Lifeguard Tower No. 3 focusing on the pier and sunset

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Single image HDR gives proper exposure of surfer.  He would be silhouette in a single shot (first photo above).  Some loss of sharpness with HDR processing.

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"Last run of the day"

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The lights come on 15 minutes after sunset.

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3-image HDR  As the surf receds, the wet sand reflects the pier lights.  Post-processing increased saturation helps as well.

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More reflections with the top and sand cropped.  Good for Facebook cover photo at 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall.

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Step into your self-timed, tripod shot with the flash on for a record shot.  Maybe we can take a group shot this way before we depart.


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Closer to the pier, between Lifeguard Tower 1 and the pier.  Fills more of the screen.

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My last shot of the evening with my DSLR, 42 minutes after sunset. 8 sec. exposure, f/10, ISO 1600


iPhone 6+ photos:

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Park, use the machine to get your ticket, put it on the dash of your car, enjoy.

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180 degree shot of Huntington Beach south east of the pier, between Lifeguard Towers 1 and 3 (there is no tower No. 2)

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Taking less than 180 degrees in a panoramic will give you a taller image. (Saturation added in post processing.)

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Straight iPhone 6+ photo with post-processing saturation added.

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My camera does not have GPS, but a shot with my iPhone, exported to my laptop, gives the GPS location for future reference. Click "Show in Maps" for closer location information.

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Reminder:  Protect your camera and lens from the salty breeze when not in use. More than just a lens cap.  Use a moist lens towelette during the shoot.

There are opportunities to use your video mode.  This Sunday evening there was a drumming session in the amphitheatre just west of the pier at the Main St. intersection.  The durmmers were playing the entire 2 hours that I was at the pier photographing.  I am not sure when this takes place or if it is a Sunday only event.



Direct link:  https://youtu.be/gzK5d3O2O6Y



Direct link:  https://youtu.be/OTpka8Ob1eo


Huntington Beach Pier is also an excellent location to photograph surfers.  Bob Webber has provided the following photos from morning visits to the pier.  You might want to return to the pier for some photos like these in the future:

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Comments welcomed at Carl@TrainWeb.com

Links

[ eBook "How to Take Great Travel Photos" by Carl Morrison | MoKnowsPhotos.com | Carl's TrainWeb Rail Travelogues | Anaheim Camera EnthusiastS (ACES) | Photographic Society of America]

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