Farstadsanden - a beach of dreams

Farstadsanden is a unique area in Møre og Romsdal. A beautiful sandy beach with the mountain Stemshesten enthroned in the background like a Lego block in an area that is otherwise flat as a pancake. Ever since I was hooked by the photo addiction, I have had a desire to go here and take photos, but things have always got in the way. A beautiful summer evening in August, I finally get the chance. I calculate plenty of time so that I arrive over an hour before sunset.

On the way I have to stop and take a quick picture of Storseisundbrua on Atlanterhavsveien, which is a unique stretch of road with many photogenic viewpoints.

Out the window I see Mælen, which we went up on not long ago. Today there is no fog either :)

Getting closer...

Stemshesten sits majesticly in the background like an obvious regent

The area before the beach is also very nice. But now I have the goal in sight ...

Farstadsanden is a beautiful beach, in an otherwise beautiful area. The sun is approaching the horizon, and I trudge around looking for the best composition.

The only problem now is that there are too many things to choose from. I know that a good landscape photographer prefers to come home with one or two pictures, but I give in and feast in compositions and colors.

Finally, the sun has set, and I have taken a load of pictures. There will be a lot of editing work! There are many types of photo expeditions, on some you have to work hard to get one or two good photos, but it is good that there are trips like this, where the subjects screams at you. On the way here I have also seen several other potential photo spots, so I look forward to returning to the area on a later occasion.

Photographing

The main purpose of the trip was naturally enough to take pictures of a beautiful beach at sunset, and it is a subject that may not be among the most challenging in terms of getting something that looks good.

Nevertheless, I aim to grow as a photographer and learn something new during the trip. Although there are plenty of nice subjects here, I want to focus on finding good compositions and creating images with good balance. In other words, I'm not happy to just take pictures of the beach and ocean with beautiful colors at sunset. The image must have good balance and dynamics, preferably with a clear foreground, leading lines or other things that make the image interesting beyond that it is colorful.

I think I succeedet at this in some of the pictures, but not all. So there is still a lot to be learned here.

The other thing I wanted to achieve was to experiment with ND filters and longer shutter speeds, both to create a softer effect on water and waves, and to try to program my muscle memory which shutter speeds work for different effects. Here I learned a lot, including that my variable circular ND filter has its limitations. It states to be able to give up to 10 stops, but in practice it starts to give clear vignetting from 7-8 stops, which limits the length of the shutter speeds quite strongly, especially while the sun is still up. I suppose it will soon be time to buy a slightly more "proper" filter set.

Results:

After several hours in front of the screen with Lightroom and Photoshop, I have the pictures ready, and I am very happy with the result. Several of the photos are perhaps among the best I have taken.

1,3 sec f/11, ISO 100, 18mm