Mark Metternich
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Here are a few new dreamscapes from Florida. In camera effect, not generative AI. I cannot believe I get to both live here in paradise, and do what I do for a living! A lot of new stuff this year.
Techie Notes:
These are taken during incredible moments of light, at specific shutter speeds, while very carefully panning the main wave or waves in the composition (to get the slightly dreamy quality).
Always on extremely level tripod with a very smooth swivel to the ball head. Still Really Right Stuff for me.
At the waters edge, or in the water. Not up on the bank (which makes waves look small).
Canon 70-200, or the same but with a 2X converter. So anywhere from 70mm to 400 usually.
I shoot stopped down for fullest depth of field.
I will usually keep the horizon in the upper 1/3rd or 1/4th so there is some sky. Most people seem to like some sky in the shot for perspective (based on previous feedback here). I agree, and THANK YOU most kindly, whoever that was a few years ago. 
With the tripod immaculately level I can shoot from extreme left to extreme right or more straight ahead, and the horizon will still be in the frame!
Leica SL2 or Panasonic Lumix S1R (my 2 favorite cameras in the world)
Slower burst /continuous mode.
I am usually shooting before the waves are cresting, then all the way through when they crash.
Shutter speeds vary a lot based on a many factors, such as the angle to the waves, speed of the waves, focal distance... but are usually between 1/30th and 1 or 2 seconds. I try ALL the speeds in-between (and others) and will shoot about 100 images, before I make any next shutter speed decision. The goal is to experiment a ton and throw out any rules I may have. I never know what will produce something that I like. Experiment and rule breaking are the rule here.
Shutter Priority, Auto ISO.
Also, here I do NOT shoot "to the right" (as I usually do for other landscapes) because I periodically look at some of the images and need to be able to see how it is working. So camera feedback is critical. Although I try not to look at the feedback too much, and lose a moment I may have gotten...
I easily take 2000-5000+ shots per shoot, (I never delete my files, so yeah, a lot of storage!).
It generally takes clients 1-3 a days before their yield starts getting high. A LOT goes into it. I'm only giving some fundaments here incase it help someone... If I get one shot that I really like in 5000 shots, I am very happy!
When it gets too bright to have the correct slower shutter speed, I use either a 6 stop or a 9 stop ND filter.
If a pelican, bird, or dolphin... are going by, I always carefully pan the camera with their speed of movement until they are gone, and then go back to the waves.
ALL times of day and weather works great. And "great light" does not correlate with a good capture! Clients sometimes have a hard time adjusting that mentality. Literally great shots can be had any time. I shoot until I'm tired or my SD cards have filled up!
I always use Adobe Lightroom/Camera Raw (now using the Adaptive Color profile more often than not).
I get the most out of Raw, then import the file into Photoshop as a RAW smart object, then to maximize quality, I use Duplicated Raw Smart Object layers (Raw Layers!) and click on them (into Camera Raw) for as much of my layer work as possible. I keep rasterized adjusting down to a bare minimum. And only after I am totally done with Raw Layers...
*I have a KILLER new method for noise control (if my ISO is higher) using both a Raw Smart Object Layer (in Photoshop) without noise reduction and a duplicated Raw Smart Object Layer WITH Adobe Denoise ON (to an appropriate amount) BUT I then use the Layer Style Blend Options "Blend If" to keep that noise reduction in the exact tones it should be (more in the shadows, but graduated less and less as the tones head toward mid-tones, and less to none in the lights/highlights). ***you can SEE example in my reply in this thread...
This takes Adobe Denoise results to a incredible level for file quality! And allows people to basically shoot at ANY ISO needed, and keep the file details as natural as possible. And tremendously boosts potential enlargement quality which I am ever still overly obsessed with (doing post processing for world class enlargements full time for gallery photographers - for about 20 years now)! The quality we are obtaining now defies belief.
I never tire of the ocean!
All the best to everyone, and their families! thank you for looking!
Rising Sun
Edited on Apr 14, 2026 at 12:28 PM · View previous versions
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