In Focus: La Union Sunset and Waves

I rarely write now. And when I do, it means something is up. Like an irresistable urge.

I was just looking at and editing the La Union photos from 2023 and, almost fantastical, I was suddenly transported to the exact moment when I was scheming in my head the idea for these shots: to capture the golden, burning sunlight on and through the waves of this very shore.

Photographing a beach on a sunset

If you’ve tried taking sunset (or sunrise) photos long enough, you probably have learned that there is a short window time to photograph the sun for it ‘to look like a sun’ and not just a white circle. (Well, it depends on where you are in the world, but) in the Philippines, it’s usually a few minutes before the sun completely disappears behind the horizon (in this case, the sea).

I usually take sunset photos in two stages: first is when it starts to get low but still too bright for you not to look at it directly, and second is when it’s low enough that you can actually look at it and it’s no longer just a white blob. (Smartphone cameras these days are smart enough to do this shiz for you, so, technically, I am just blabbing some old school photography tricks here.)

I love the light that the sun casts when during the first case (described above). It’s when the sun starts giving its golden glow, and still bright to make the waters glimmer and shimmer.

Also, the light during this time is still strong to penetrate the tinier waves coming to the shore, with some hint of faint shadows for drama, texture, and details).

Take these photos with a fast shutter speed (your smartphone will most likely do it automatically for you) and you will end up with waves frozen in time, glasslike, and infused with the warm sunset glow.