For the past several months, I have been working on my project that is a coffee-table style book of photos of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida. I finished about a month ago the entire shoot list, and is now at the publishers for layout and design. During the project, it was decided that the book title needed to be changed to "Tampa Bay: A Photographic Portrait" since I covered the entire bay area, and the original cover shot needed to change.
I had a conference call with the publisher, and we decided that the cover needed to be generic in nature, but also show the beauty of the area, and the number one reason why the Tampa Bay area is a popular vacation, tourist, place to call home. So after tossing around some ideas, it was apparent that the shot needed to be of the beach, and one that shows how peaceful, relaxing and beautiful it is. So I had my marching orders, so I thought about the shot for a few days, and then it hit me.
I enlisted the help of my wife to be the model, and my good friend John to assist with a ladder. Ok, so you may be asking yourself, "what does a ladder have to do with the beach, much less the shot?". The answer is simple, and that is perspective. I know from past experience that the higher I get off the beach, the more of the beach I will get, as well as strong leading lines in the composition. A couple of days before our planned shoot, I did some test shots at Honeymoon Island, and they confirmed my idea.
We all met at Fort De Soto Beach early Sunday morning, when the sun was low on the horizon, and the golden light was just right. We gathered up our gear, and dragged out a six foot ladder out onto the beach, with some very strange looks from those who were already there, since most likely they have never seen anyone take a ladder to the beach. We made our way down the beach to the perfect spot that I have shot from numerous times in the past, but never from a high perspective.
I got everything set up, checked my settings, and then began to experiment with different shots for the next hour. Dawn was perfect and the shots came out even better then I had hoped for. While I was shooting, John took numerous shots of me at work, for he thought it was funny to see me standing on a ladder about ten feet above the beach, but they show a rare glimpse of how to set up a shot that is uniquely different then most ever taken at the beach.
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View The Cover of "Tampa Bay: A Photographic Portrait"
(JPG - 112KB)
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I filled up a card full of images during the hour we shot, and the end result will be showcased on the cover of the book when it is released early next spring. Just goes to show that with a little careful and creative planning, you can create an image that looks different then most, and a great exercise in taking your photos to a whole new level.
(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)
Photos courtesy of John Jacobsen
Robert La Follette
www.robertlafollette.com
