Taking Pictures in 'Moody' Southern CaliforniaKevin Gilligan photographs the Golden State's dramatic beach scenes and skies with his Tamron SP 10-24mm wide-angle and SP 24-70mm VC lenses. |
Article by Jenn Gidman Images by Kevin Gilligan |
Stormy weather isn't the norm in sunny Southern California, so when Los Angeles photographer Kevin Gilligan spots a dramatic, tempestuous-looking sky, he takes advantage of it. "Maybe it's because I grew up on the East Coast, but I always make an extra effort to get out there and capture stormy skies when I see them," he says. "It's all about the light: I love sunsets and beautiful, sunshine-filled days, but I also enjoy capturing alternatives to that with my Tamron SP 10-24mm wide-angle and SP 24-70mm VC lenses. Shadows and clouds play a big part in these 'moodier' images." |
Looking for different angles can help turn an ordinary scene into something extraordinary. "I was out walking on the beach on this really stormy day when I spotted a platform looking out over the beach," he says. "The sky had these massive, ominous clouds, so I knew I wanted to capture the moment. When I first looked at the scene, though, I couldn't get an interesting perspective, so I approached it from a bunch of different angles using the 24-70. The final shot was from me lying on the ground, which really changed the whole look. I purposely kept this one untitled, because when I talk to different people, they see different things. I didn't want to impose my own feelings and thoughts into the image." |
Perspective was also important in Kevin's shot of the Manhattan Beach Pier one foggy morning. "I took this picture around 5:30 a.m.," he says. "It had rained the night before, which gave everything that sheen you see. I got down really low to the ground with my camera on the tripod and using the 10-24 lens. One of my photographic mentors once told me to always find a way into my photographs, so I tried to use the natural lines of the pier to bring the viewer in. I shot this with a 25-second exposure at F/22, 100 ISO." |
Kevin's photographic forays often start long before the sun rises. "I woke up at 4 a.m. to capture this image of the Ventura Pier," he says. "I walked about a half-mile through the sand in the dark to get there. I took this image with the 10-24, with my camera on a tripod and using a shutter release because it was so dark. I was at 11mm and I shot it at 100 ISO at F/22, 8 seconds. I ended up converting it to black and white." |
While shots taken midday near the water can often be challenging, Kevin managed to capture one of his favorites using the 24-70. "I was trying to use the waves in the water to find a way into the landscape," he says. "If you look at the image blown up, there's a lot going on: There are surfers in the water; what looks like a dust speck is actually a helicopter in the sky. I really like the way the details came out in this image: The waves and clouds were sharp, and the lens captures such a nice variation of color. Plus, this was a handheld shot, so the VC on the 24-70 came in particularly handy." |
As the day draws to a close, Kevin continues to seek out the drama along the shore. "I took this one shot at 7:30 in the evening on a really stormy day," he says. "A stone jutting, which has a pipe that gets rid of water runoff and also doubles as a boat launch, added visual interest to the picture in the foreground against that huge, cloud-filled sky. You might have gotten lost in the image without something like that to focus on. I shot this at the 10mm end at 1 second at F/20, 100 ISO. I experimented with some darker colors in post-processing to fit the mood. Also, I should note I went right into the water to get the shot - I was soaked!" |
Kevin weighs whether to enhance or modify colors in post-processing (or even convert an image to black and white) depending on each image. "I definitely try to get my composition and lighting in-camera, but I'm certainly not against working on an image after the fact to bring out the colors or contrast," he says. "I'll often bring an image into Lightroom to examine it more closely. If it strikes me that the color and structure might look good in black and white, I'll do a preliminary conversion; if I like what I see, then I'll bring it into Photoshop and bring out the highlights and tones using the depth of the black and white." |
A lighthouse in Los Angeles Harbor set against the backdrop of San Pedro gave Kevin the perfect opportunity to experiment. "I don't often see lighthouses like that out here," he says. "People often ask me if I took that picture back East, which is probably what attracted me to it in the first place. I thought maybe a black-and-white shot would give it a classic look. When I looked at it in black and white, though, I didn't find it as interesting. There were colors in the water and sky that I wanted to bring out, so I kept it in color." |
The 24-70's Vibration Compensation feature came through for this shot as well. "I was on a boat ride when I spotted the lighthouse," Kevin says. "It was a rough day, and the boat was going up and down. I cranked the shutter speed up as high as I could - the VC let me capture a really crisp image." |
To see more of Kevin Gilligan's work, go to www.photosbykag.com. |