Last night a storm blew in bringing 50mph winds and rain. Power was out for a large portion of the Greater Vancouver Area. I decided to brave the weather and pull out my camera despite a downpour of rain, howling winds and giant waves.
Bundled up, armed with my camera bag, 2 dogs and my trusty fianc￩e we set out for a morning of storm watching. Our destination was a beach near our home town of Ladner, called White Rock Beach. White Rock sits on the border between the US and Canada on the West Coast.
Like so many other people we were in search of giant crashing waves, storm damage and for a glimpse of nature's power. We stumbled upon a lone standing pier that jetted out from the beach about 300 to 400m and rose above the unusually high storm surge about 8 feet. The pier was roped off with yellow caution tape warning of the danger ahead, but just like everyone else we laughed in the face of danger and proceeded out to the tip of the pier.
The pier was guarded by a rock break water and sheltered a dozen or so boats tied up at the piers marina. The walk out resulted in hands, noses and ears becoming wet popsicles. As the rain pelted our faces like mini bullets we leaned into the wind and continued on despite the urge to run for shelter and warmth. Once we reached the end of the pier and the edge of what was borderline safe I had a decision to make, do I pull out my expensive digital camera and lenses to capture this event or do I run like a chicken back to the car. The decision was easy in my mind, RUN! But alas I faced the bitter cold, rain bullets, wind and waves.
Despite nearly being blown over several times I pulled out my camera and stood fast waiting for the opportunity to capture the power of this storm. While snapping away I remember seeing out of the corner of my eye a woman in a red jacket sprinting past me towards shore. I distinctly remember the look on her face as she ran by. It wasn't until I realized she had a look of terror on her face that I was in trouble. A giant wave decided to sneak up pound into the break water (which didn't do what it was supposed to) and attack me from behind. With this wall of water approaching, my late realization there was nothing I could do, it was too late, I was now soaked. Without missing a beat I continued shooting.
I managed to capture a few good photographs, nothing spectacular but none the less decent. I was glad I took the chance and endured the wrath of nature. I hope a little wind and rain does not keep you and your camera locked up inside. Today's digital cameras are more resilient than you might think (some better then others), however rain and wind are a far cry from submersion!
This shot was shot using a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS L lens with a shutter speed of 1/1600s and aperture of 5.0, ISO 800 at 200mm. In this type of situation where the wind was blowing me, I was hand holding the camera and there was a fast moving subject I upped the ISO in order to achieve a fast shutter speed which allowed me to get a nice clear and sharp image.
The afternoon ended with a hot cup of soup, a tasty sandwich and the only drink of choice for a miserable day, hot chocolate.
