Getting out there

Ever had one of those mornings where you wake up early and can’t get back to sleep? The kind of morning where you lay there for an hour and are still no closer to nodding off?

That was me. Initially I pulled out my phone, intending to find a podcast or music to help get me back to sleep.

Then I remembered that the Geminid meteor shower was supposed to be happening soon. I opened photopills to check, and sure enough, i’d just missed the peak.

Now my mind was already thinking of locations that I might be able to shoot and capture some of the meteors in flight, but all the good places required at least 30 minutes driving, which meant there would be too much sunlight to capture anything. And of course there was no getting back to sleep now.

In the end I opted to head to the beach. I knew the cliffs would shield some of the nearby city lights and hoped that would be enough. Sadly by the time I got there and setup, it was too late. Too much ambient light meant any shooting stars would be well and truly masked.

Panorama of cliffs over a beach before sunrise

That left me down the beach with plenty of blue hour to play with. As a result, I was in the perfect place and time to capture the local shorebirds having their breakfast with some beautiful natural reflections, thanks to the low tide and flat expanse beach. There really is something special about being up and about this early.

Gulls feeding in the orange light before sunrise

As I was shooting, I thought of the product / brand photography practice I’ve been doing lately. I didn’t have any products with me to practice, but I had a heap of ideas and started planning my compositions, settings and timings. I think any brand wanting to be associated with wellness, mental health, early mornings or empty beaches would be perfect to capture in such a moment.

Gulls finding breakfast in the morning waves

So if there’s any brands out there looking for some authentic early morning shots to complement their strategy and tell their story, I’d love to have a chat.

Shorebirds feeding in the early morning light