Behind The Photo(BTP): Sun-kissed in the Mist

I was off doing some work on the shore when this gentleman, completely covered up from head to toe in winter clothing, biked uphill at the slowest pace imaginable. He was fighting the super strong, freezing -6 C (21 F) winds that were blowing debris wildly about. It was like watching someone who hadn’t been to the gym in 10 years struggling on an exercise bike, in slow motion. He went so slow that it was almost calling me to take the pic.

The area was overcome by a constant mist of sea-spray from the Atlantic Ocean, combined with Sunset that was now happening just above the hill. Another thing that is highly important to note, if you decide to shoot in conditions like this, is that the sea water is not a friend of your camera gear. If you get that salt water on your gear, you can consider it RUINED. So this was kind of dangerous to do. If you get it in your sensor, it’s done for. So no changing lenses out there, take 2 cams! My camera strap’s metal was rusted in less that 1 week due to that shooting event. Also note, it’s much cooler at the sea in these areas, and extremely windy since there are no structures to stop wind from blowing. My fingers and face were absolutely frozen and could barely move from shooting that day. The sun was strong, it turned the whole area to a blinding orange. I metered quickly and saw this guy was completely dark due to my sensor being overrun by the sun and knew it would come out like this shot.

Yeah, you do that for a shot like this.