I get a ton of questions about how I make my seascape photographs. And I have to admit, I’m always hesitant to share the details, I feel like I’m giving away some sort of secret recipe. It makes me feel like I’m revealing too much of the magic and it scares me. Because this, our studio, is my baby and I’m afraid of what could happen. Everyone tells me that if something scares me then it’s definitely something I should do in order to grow. So here goes.

The effect that you see in my seascape photographs was created entirely in camera using a long exposure.

These images were made when the sky was dark; I get up ridiculously early in the morning, 4 am sometimes, or I go out late in the evening after the sun has set. I use a tripod and I leave the shutter on my camera open for anywhere from one to sixteen minutes, which is what smooths out the waves and creates the look of fog.

The only work that I do in Photoshop is to retouch the dust that inevitably gets everywhere when photographing on the beach.

So there you have it, now you know. Tell me, have my photographs lost their magic or have they gained more?