01.01.2023

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 480s, f/11, ISO160

It wasn’t quite the pomp and circumstance of our annual meetup from season’s past, but starting the new year waking up for sunrise at Sandy Beach just feels right! Before the pandemic times, a whole group known as “dA Crazies” (of which I was a part) would gather with tents and chairs and food for days to hang out, and maybe snap a photo. This morning, though, we were a small subsection with no food, and we were joined by the wonderful Darcy!

Photo by Eric Malina (L-R: Eric, Me, Ryan, Darcy) used with permission and gratitude

Ryan and I arrived early (he at 5:30am and me around 5:45am and for context, sunrise was at 7:10am) because we were concerned for the parking availability. Darcy had started from a separate parking area, and Eric slept through 3 alarms but still managed to find a parking stall! It seems the New Years sunrise is an event for people here on the island!

Vertical Orientation iPhone documentary footage (no sound)

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 480s, f/8, ISO160

Ryan and I talked story at the cars for a bit until we started to see hints of color that start to appear post nautical twilight (around 6:20am). We traversed the rocky beach area and he showed me this spot that he nicknamed “the donut.” I think Eric thought it looked like an eyeball. Ryan decided to go exploring some so I decided to park here and do the most conventional thing possible: Frame the donut eye, catch a bit of horizon where the sun would eventually rise to ensure some color burn, set the tripod up high enough to show the water on the far side of the rock island, and set the exposure for 8 minutes because I’m not the creative type until I’ve got the safe shot catalogued first. I also took a vertical (which is the featured photo for the post, because that’s what one might do after one’s taken a horizontal).

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/4s, f/11, ISO160

You’ll notice Eric and Ryan brought Tabis, but my morning-brain decided slippers were good enough. The rocks here were QUITE slippery and there were a few moments where I felt unsteady, so I didn’t venture as forward as I might have with more sure footing. With the donut eye shot done and the sun starting to crest over the horizon, I got in position to try the starburst effect. I wanted a LITTLE bit of dynamism in the water, so I chose a slower than usual shutter speed when people are in the photo, and Eric was quite the twitchy subject so there were quite a few motion-blurred photos in this series but I managed to find one where he was still enough to use. You can see Ryan the veteran finding more unique angles and passing the long exposure times taking cellphone b-roll, and Eric the adventurer whose less averse to getting wet for the photo with his tripod legs a foot deep in the water. And me safely on dry rock following the conventional Fibonacci ratio…

Photo by Darcy Fiero used with permission and gratitude

Darcy moved her car over to our spot, and like usual, was able to find a parking spot at the drop of a hat! Unfortunately for us, she couldn’t make it all the way to the donut eye this morning, but she captured this awesome silhouette of us with Ryan’s silly grin as he’s about to take a swig from his pre-breakfast 3-cup coffee bottle. I have a lot to learn about capturing decisive moments from Darcy! We enjoyed breakfast together afterwards, like all good mornings should end.