I found myself shooting near dusk in Lincoln City, along Oregon’s beautiful coastline. Fortunately, a low tide coincided with sunset, so I had no trouble finding some exposed rocks to climb up on to work from an elevated position. I wanted to convey the energy of the powerful incoming surf, and the only way to do that was with the right shutter speed.

With my camera and 12–24mm lens mounted on a tripod, I selected a shutter speed of a 1/15 sec. and then adjusted my aperture until f/8 indicated a correct exposure for the scene before me. I then played the waiting game, waiting for a wave with enough energy to flow into the entire frame, top to bottom.

Within a few seconds of recording the exposure shown in the top image, I shifted gears, choosing now to convey the mighty ocean as the somewhat calm and tranquil landscape it seldom (if ever) is. With the aid of my Tiffen variable 2–8 stop neutral-density (ND) filter set at a 5-stop reduction, and then reducing my aperture to f/22, I was able to create another correct exposure for this same scene: f/22 at 15 seconds (shown here). The message is now radically altered, as we have gone from a “force to be reckoned with” to one that is far more docile.

Top: Nikon D300S with Nikkor 12–24mm lens, f/8 for 1/15 sec., ISO 200; Bottom: Nikon D300S with Nikkor 12–24mm lens, f/22 for 15 seconds with ND filter set to 5-stop reduction, ISO 200