Seascapes by Lea Tippett

Photographer; Lea Tippett.
Location; UK.
Camera; Sigma SD14.

A Nanven morning.

[column column=”one-half”]My all time favourite location to shoot Seascapes is here at Porth Nanven in Cornwall. This is a remote cove not many miles away from Lands End and is a real gem for Landscape /Seascape photography. As this cove is facing west you can have the most amazing sunsets throughout the year and because of this it has become a Mecca for photographers. This image was taken on the 1st of January 2010 on a bright cold morning when there was some beautiful soft light in the early morning. [/column]

[column column=”one-half”]Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.6ND Grad.
F-Stop: F22.
Exposure Time: 1 Sec.
ISO: 50.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and white balance. [/column]

A Cornish beauty.

This image was taken early morning on the 1st of January 2010 and is taken at Porth Nanven in Cornwall. This is my favourite beach in Cornwall I never get tired of shooting around Porth Nanven as it looks different each time I return and I always find new things to photograph here. First of all I processed this image using SPP 4.1 and obtained an image I was quite pleased with. I then made some minor adjustments to the levels and curves in Photoshop CS4 and then sharpened using smart sharpen. Most of my images are enhanced with the aid of Lee ND graduated filters which I have found to be a very good investment.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.9 ND grad.
F-stop: F16
Exposure time: 5 Sec.
ISO: 100
Focal length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and white balance.

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A Holywell sunset

This image is taken at Holywell Bay which is situated on the north coast of Cornwall and is blessed with a beautiful beach. It was taken on the 8th April 2010 and was at low tide on a glorious sunset evening. I had about 30 minutes to take the sunset images between the two islands in the distance and had to constantly move my tripod position to account for the suns continuous movement.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma
Filters: Lee 0.6 ND Grad.
F-Stop: F20.
Exposure Time: 0.6 Sec.
ISO: 50.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and white balance.

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Durdle Door Dreaming

This was one of my first images that I had taken with the Sigma 8-16mm and was taken from Durdle Door in Dorset. I was very happy to find I only needed to take one image and not the normal two or three that I would of taken previously and then have to stitch together. The image was taken on the 19th July 2010 and was taken at approximately 9.45pm using a tripod and cable release. Due to the design of the 8-16mm lens there was no filter fitted to the lens and it was really too dark for the filter to be of any use anyway. I found this lens to be very useful for this location and gave the image a nice perspective with the shingle beach curving around into the far distance.

Camera: Sigma SD15.
Lens: Sigma 8-16mm DC.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
F-Stop: F18.
Exposure Time: 0.5 Sec.
ISO: 100.
Focal Length of lens: 8mm.
Manual focus and White balance.

Early at the mount

An early start at 04.00am was required to take this image at St Michaels Mount near Penzance in Cornwall. Although I set out early I wasn’t the first photographer at this location and found myself sharing the best view points with two other photographers. I closely checked the weather and tide times to determine if taking photographs would be possible on this morning and luckily it was. This image was first processed with SPP4.2 and then adjustments to the levels and saturation were made with Photoshop CS4. I also had a few dust spots to remove as my sensor really should of been cleaned before I took these shots. There was no filter used with this image as I used the Sigma 8-16mm DC which I find to be a very good lens.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.9 ND Grad.
F-Stop: F20.
Exposure Time: 20 Sec.
ISO: 100.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and White balance.

Holywell afterglow

Taken on the 8th of April 2010 with my Sigma SD14 and 15-30 EX lens. It was a very low tide on this particular evening and I was very fortunate to have the whole beach to myself so I took advantage of the favourable shooting conditions. This shot is one of a collection I had taken on this evening but I find this one probably my favourite out of the series. I have done little in the way of adjustments in SPP or Photoshop as I was quite pleased with the look straight out of the camera.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.9 ND Grad.
F-Stop: F16.
Exposure Time: ;¼ Sec.
I.S.O: 50.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and White balance.
Exposure Bias: -1.7

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Kernow forever

This image is probably the single best photograph I think I have ever taken with a Sigma camera and came 1st in the Foveon Landscapes challenge on dp reviews website. It was taken at Porth Nanven once again which is a must for the seascape photographer visiting Cornwall it’s truly a magical place. I was quite fortunate that there was a nice bit of cloud in the sky which added some interest in the background. Over the years I have found the 15-30mm EX lens to be a great performer and has served me very well I have found the lens very sharp from the centre to the outer edges. Some minor colour correction was done in SPP using the colour wheel and some adjustments to the levels and contrast in Photoshop CS4.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.9 ND Grad.
F-Stop: F22.
Exposure Time: 1.3 Sec.
I.S.O: 50.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and White balance.

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Towanroath

This is another very popular location to photograph and is also on the North coast of Cornwall. You can just imagine the sight that would greet the Cornish tin miner after a hard days mining. The sunsets here can be absolutely stunning and all you require is a bit of luck with the weather. Unusually for me I took this image during the day which was a first for me from this location. This was because I was so impressed with the vibrant colours of the local wild flowers which were on display. The Sigma 8-16mm DC made this shot possible due to the great wide angle capabilities and I’m sure none of the other wide angle lenses that I own would give me this result.

Camera: Sigma SD15.
Lens: Sigma 8-16mm DC.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
F-Stop: F16.
Exposure Time: 50th Sec.
ISO: 100.
Focal Length of lens: 8mm.
Manual focus and White balance.

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Porth Nanven by moonlight

Another image taken at Porth Nanven and also one of my favourite images I have taken from this location. Yes that is the moon you can just about make out in the far distance of this image. I was a little late at arriving to this location and unfortunately for me if I was here just five minutes before I would of had a wonderful moonbeam reflection in the water. The processing in this image was done once again in SPP 4.1 and some adjustments with curves and levels in Photoshop CS4. I must confess my understanding of Photoshop is minimal so I try my best to achieve something like the finished photo in camera by using ND graduated filters to balance skies and to give me the longer exposure times I require. I do find the Foveon imager capable of producing great detail in images but it is essential to be accurate with exposures as noise can be an issue if light is poor so checking the histogram is a must.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.9 ND Grad.
F-Stop: F16.
Exposure Time: 5 Sec.
ISO: 100.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and White balance.

Smugglers Den

This image was taken at Trebarwith Strand on the North coast of Cornwall and is a very popular location for photographers. I have named this image Smugglers Den due to its use over centuries by Smugglers to bring their contraband into the country. On this evening it was quite misty which I think has helped to defuse the harshness of the sun and given me quite a subtle result. Once again I used a graduated filter to allow me the longer exposure I desired and just take the edge off the orange sky. I thoroughly recommend this location if you ever decide to take a visit to Cornwall it is easily accessed and has plenty of photographic opportunities no matter if the tide is in or out.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.6 ND Grad.
F-Stop: F18.
Exposure Time: 13 Sec.
ISO: 100.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.

Storms ahead

Taken on the 29th June 2009 with my SD14 and 15-30EX at Bedruthan Steps near Newquay on the North coast of Cornwall. This is a fantastic location for Seascapes due to the amount of scenery available to photograph once you make it down to the beach. I took this image just a few minutes before it started to rain heavy and I think the photograph illustrates that! I used my trusty 0.6 ND graduated filter to balance the sky with the foreground which enabled me to shot with a 2 second exposure to give the sea a sense of movement. I find ND grad filters invaluable for these kind of images but care must be taken not to get sea spray or rain drops on the filter which can easily ruin images. I processed this image with SPP 4.1 and Photoshop CS4 making some adjustments to levels and highlights/shadows.

Camera: Sigma SD14.
Lens: Sigma 15-30EX.
Tripod: Manfrotto 005.
Cable release: Sigma.
Filters: Lee 0.6 ND Grad.
F-Stop: F22.
Exposure Time: 2 Sec.
ISO: 50.
Focal Length of lens: 15mm.
Manual focus and White balance.

 

Trebarwith Strand

This image was shot 10th November 2010 on a very moody evening which eventually resulted in thunder storms. These sort of menacing skies are what I love to photograph but very rarely they occur. I used my Sigma SD15 and the Sigma 8-16mm set at 16mm manually focused and low to the ground with the aid of my trusty old Manfrotto tripod. I also used the Lee 0.6 hard ND grad to emphasise the very dark clouds and give me that stormy look I wanted. Some post processing was done to the image regarding the levels, contrast and saturation using Sigma Photo Pro 4.1 then Photoshop CS4.

Camera: Sigma SD15.
Lens: Sigma 8-16mm DC.
Tripod: Manfrotto 055.
Cable release: Sigma.
F-Stop: F16.
Exposure Time: 6 Sec.
ISO: 50.
Focal Length of lens: 16mm.
Manual focus and White balance.