Any tips on tide pool photography?

Hey everyone, hope you are all doing well. I imagine I'm not alone in looking forward to this coming Spring and Summer. I'm looking to try out a couple of new things this year, one of which is doing some tide pool photography. I wasn't very successful in my search for tips/tricks on the "ol' Google machine". Hoping someone on NPN has some experience or resources that you might be willing to share with me. Thanks so much, ahead of time. Take care & good shooting.

The best I've seen has consistently been produced with two strobes on brackets, set to angle in from either side. The folks that do lots like really small strobes to cut down weight, too. And most shoot 100-105mm macros for optimum working distance. I've done a fair bit, but without the two-light bracket, using instead an off-camera cable for my strobe. The sincere danger is in dropping the strobe when you do it without a bracket. In all cases, you have to get your strobe(s) off the lens axis to prevent flare back into the camera. At one time Kirk was the only commercial source of 2-light brackets, but I think there are several now, including RRS and maybe Wimberly.

Dave,

You'll have to scout out some locations in advance, looking for those pools that have minimal water movement. A polarizer will be very helpful in removing/reducing reflections from the water surface, too. You might also experiment with your white balance settings with the aim of reducing the amount of blue.

The strobe setup suggested by Hank is a good one in order to achieve balanced lighting, Be careful to prevent salt water contamination of your gear.

Have fun!

-P

I just double checked with a friend, and he used a home-built 2-strobe bracket for lots of years, then switched to the Kirk FB-10 on this page. I mis-spoke on the 100-105. He uses that for somewhat broader views and larger animals, but much prefers the 200 for comfortable working distances with smaller animals. You have to think of working while squatting, because in many locations you can't get down on your hands and knees. Watch what you put on your feet and where you step, too. One misstep and..........

I've pretty much just started a lot of tidepool photography this past winter. Here's some of the info I've learned. Of course there is the necessary location scouting and tide level watching. Gear-wise some plastic boots and knee pads come in handy. Photo gear wise a polarizer is virtually a requirement. A light reflector can also come in handy at times, as can a flash, but this all depends upon your subject and how much it wants to shine back at you. I read somewhere (although never tried it myself) of using a mini aquarium to submerge so you can put your camera under the water level as well as keep it dry. I've found that sometimes an umbrella can come in handy to shade a wet subject if the reflection is too much. And yes, as Hank mentioned definitely watch your step and keep close tabs on your equipment.

I tried some tide pool photos last summer. I used a Canon 500D on my NIkon 70-200mm f2.8 VR lens and liked the results. I used a tripod also. There was always a polarizer on the lens. Low tide was right at dawn and it was nearly dark when I started. I put a Nikon flash plus CyberSync into a double ziploc bag, and placed that in the water. I had a second flash + CyberSync above the water, also in a sealed plastic bag. My 11 yr. old son held it at whatever angle I asked. I know it sounds odd that a buy from South Dakota has some ideas on photo'ing tide pools, but it actually worked. I even did it in the dark.


Kent in SD

Lots of good info so far. I'll just add that when there is the likelihood of getting wet or falling down around tide pools, I'll only carry the absolute essentials in my bag. That way if you do happen to take an unexpected bath, you might not damage as much expensive gear. Simple is better in my opinion, so I would opt for a single strobe and maybe a few cheap reflectors - homemade even - that you wouldn't mind setting down in the water or mud. And lastly, a black umbrella (again, cheap) works well as a shade to cut glare, and also as a wind-block to keep water ripples down a bit. Hope that helps. Good luck!

For a great reflector, go to Walmart and buy one of those car windshield sun shades. One side is shiney bright foil, and you can use plastic Krylon spray paint to color the reverse side black. They are lightweight, relatively large but fold compactly, and cheap. Shoot at night and won't have to worry about blocking the sun.


Kent in SD

Don't forget to keep a wary eye on the tide coming back in!!

Thanks so much everyone - great info here. Gonna take a bit to sort through everything. The salt water is always a concern, but the areas I'm looking at are fairly sheltered in some coves - so I SHOULD be ok with that. I'm going to be bringing a portable diffuser panel in case of very bright daylight. Already have a Canon G9 with an underwater housing that I'm going to give a shot, depending on the depth of some of the pools & working distance. Also will be using a Sigma 180/3.5 macro and at least one of camera flash - per your recommendation Hank (hadn't thought of that - good idea). Getting a pair of XtraTuffs (or similar) for boots. They are completely waterproof, about high calf high, and made for very slick conditions - they use them on fishing boats & processing plants. Gotta get a new C-PL, as mine has ahem... seen better days
Like the idea about either a kneeling pad (been meaning to making one of those for some time) or knee pads (one less thing to get blown/washed away/lost).
Great ideas all! If anyone has anything else, please keep them coming. Thanks again.

I gave up on ExtraTuffs, David. They're always too short. My alternative for tidepooling is neoprene hip boots for extra depth and padding at the knees built in. Best soles are the nubby type rather than vibram, felt or ExtraTuff. They're European stye and look like rounded golf cleats, but darned if I can remember the brand name. Red Ball is highly likely, but I can't confirm it without trekking across the ice to reach the barn, shoveling snow from in front of the door, then digging to get to the boots. Yeah, winter in Kodiak!

On the portable diffuser, you're likely to run out of hands, and it's one more thing to carry across the slick rocks. Wear a raincoat, and position yourself up-sun to shade the area, then illuminate with your strobe. You're still an all-in-one package for hands free navigation and camera manipulation. One thing I would add to your carry list- trekking poles. Tidepools in sheltered coves are going to be slicker than those on open shoretline, simply because softer plants can live there, and barnacles and mussels for footing aren't as common.

Well first off you'll be doing it the wrong seasons but you're in Alaska and it's probably a lot warmer in spring and summer. The tide is lowest in fall and winter. It get so low sometimes I don't worry about any surf even bugging me. You still get tides at about 0 feet but it's amazing to see the tides at -2.9. I've slipped broken equipment so you'll have to keep the way you move around in the tidepools. You're at one point going to slip and fall if you do it enough. I like to keep a low center of gravity, butt out, knees bent, arms out and torso leaned in foward a bit to soften any landings. Water shoes with really great grip that have enough room for neoprene socks or booties are a nice thing to have.

Finding a place that is long and flat would probably be best. Trying on place that is not might be a little frustrating when the surf is causing you to change your location every 15 minutes.

Another factor in winter tides up here Steve, is time of day. With our short days, all of our best winter tides occur in total darkness. And you don't know slick till you've tried Ulva with a skim of ice on it!

Thanks Steve, Hank again:) Actually, my time frame in May will have tides at about -2.7. Homer, Kachemak Bay, and the Cook Inlet have some of the most extreme tides in the world 22-25 foot swings in areas. Luckily, it looks like the low tides (negatives) are almost ALL happening on weekends this summer - so I should have plenty of ops
Hey, anyone got any samples of their work - or links to work that they admire - regarding tide pool photography?

Hey David,

Are you going to have a boat while you're on Kachemak Bay? Across the way at the base of Glacier Spit there's a "salt chuck" or enclosed lagoon that's quite a bit higher than the low tide line, but has incredible tide pools. It fills with water at high tide, then take hours to dump after the tide. In the rocky narrows between the inner "lagoon" and the beach is a long series of cascades punctuated by tidepools you can walk around at your leisure for much longer periods than usual. Walk around the rocky face more or less south, and you'll find another wonderland. The vertical rocky face separating the salt chuck from the next beach is laid out in tide zones, as if with a ruler. You can "explore the tide" all along that face with dry feet. Nice area. Haven't been there in many year, but would go back in a heartbeat.

Jakalof Bay has notable tide pools too, and life aint too shabby over in the vicinity of Kasitsna Bay lab and the nearby flats -- McDonalds Spit maybe? Life is short. They say memory is the first thing to go, and I forget what is second.

Hey Hank, yeah I'll be using 1 or more water taxis over a few days to get across Kachemak Bay - WISH I had a boat of my own:)
GREAT INFO!!! This is stuff I was looking for, but realized that I would probably have to get it out of the water taxi captains - but here you go again Great stuff & thanks!

I assume it's still there, but many years ago they put restrooms and other facilities in the woods above the beach I referenced adjacent to the salt chuck. It should show up on the park maps. If that's there it's a perfect setup for a camp right alongside the great shooting. What to do between low tides? Bring tackle.

And as a side note, when you go up into the salt chuck while it's drained, there are eastern softshell clams in the sandy substrate rather than their usual mud habitat. And they're huge! Undoubtedly one of the best clams to hit a plate. You don't even need a shovel, and in fact with their thin shells it's better not to use one. The substrate is so soft you can pull them out by hand.

Now you're just playing with my heart strings, FOOD! Time for lunch! Haven't had a big bowl of Alaskan clam/seafood chowder in a while - it's what New England could only aspire to produce