I Got Hurt for These Photos: Florida Beach Photography

Paul Farace Photography
Jun 10
3 min read

Epic Florida beach photography sometimes comes with risks!

Florida Beach Photography VLOG about Long exposures during blue hour and sunrise.

Watch The Video Here: I Got Hurt for These Photos

This week I went out to photograph some 16mm wide angle long exposures at my favorite Florida beach in Marineland. All was going well until I let my guard down for 2 seconds. That's all it took and I was laying on the rocks in maximum pain! I fell hard and landed straight on to my left ribs. They are still hurting a week later. Landscape photography can be dangerous, but were the sunrise photos worth the injuries? Watch the full VLOG to see the camera settings, coastal compositions and final results.

Arriving extra early as always I setup my tripod and pointed my camera into the darkness, and at the rocks, in hopes there was a decent composition in my frame. But seriously I got some beautiful blue hour shots over the coquina. It's always tough when you have to find compositions in the dark, but luckily I know this place very well. The orange rocks contrasting with the blue hour, as pinks and purples began to show for dawn, was a great subject for my first shots. What a great start to this morning.

Rocky shoreline with long-exposure surf under a pastel purple-pink sky, creating a calm coastal scene. Marineland Florida. — My favorite shot from blue hour over the coquina rock in Marineland Florida.

As the sunrise began to show I continued capturing shots, but not without a few technical difficulties. I ended taking a large series of awesome looking shots only to find out my focus was....erm....off a little. But luckily the morning sun and clouds continued to put on a great show and I was able to capture a beautiful sunrise shot scene. My composition was heavy on the right with the coquina rock, but I was hoping a water cascade would fill out the left side. It ended up working out pretty well with the sun on the left too, washing over the coquina and emphasizing the textures. This one was my favorite sunrise shot, but I don't which I like better. The blue hour or sunrise photo, what do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Golden sunset over ocean waves crashing against rocky shore, with glowing clouds and a calm, dramatic seascape. Marineland Florida. — This one was my favorite sunrise photo, but which is better? The blue hour or the sunrise scene?

Shortly after taking a series of water cascade photos and different compositions I was setting up my video camera to record some clips. My photo tripod was perched on a rock near the cascades. Because I was using a wide angle lens I needed to be close to my foreground. When I looked up I saw a huge set wave coming and without thinking tried to run over ot grab my photo camera. I stepped straight into a hole in the rocks. I free fell right onto my upper ribs. That was the worst of it besides scraping my hands up pretty bad on the coquina.

After that I took a few more clips, but packed it up to go nurse my wounds. Which are still hurting today a week later. Luckily I didn't break any ribs, but that was not fun. Be careful out there! And if you want to watch all this check out the full video.

Watch The Video Here: I Got Hurt for These Photos

About this video: Learn how to capture blue hour long exposures, master water cascade camera settings, and create compelling compositions when shooting directly into a bright sunrise. Whether you are learning coastal photography or just love Florida vlogs, this behind-the-scenes look shows the real challenges of outdoor landscape photography.

Florida Beach Photo Gallery from Marineland Florida

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