At eye level with the many birds that flock the surf in search of food is truly captivating and engaging. I found most enjoyment laying down on the sand eye level with Sanderlings; these puff balls of energy often seen chasing waves back and forth are like little panic attacks trying to find food sources; this species thrives during migration as it feeds off small crustaceans and slimy things found within receding surf – that’s what keeps them busy finding sustenance for migration! Beds where prey items were found would yield the greatest success from my perspective and so that’s where I made contact with my prey – that was where I hit up my sand timed my visits!
My Z9/Z600f4TC rests safely inside a Panning Plate that’s been embedded within a Frisbee. The panning plate allows me to take photographs of fast moving subjects such as Sanderlings while “resting” it on the ground, without much panning motion from my lens. In order to capture sharp images when photographing on sandy surfaces like this one, it’s key to understand that panning maneuverability on such an uneven surface is limited and take that into consideration before using this technique. To create this type of image requires selecting your foreground and background separately before hoping your subject uses them both. In my case, I wanted the small section of reflection in the foreground so I positioned myself there before waiting for Sanderlings to pass by on their Z 9 with food for them – and every time one appeared I said to myself “Hold that crab!”
