Members of the homeless community are often the focus of photojournalists cameras as they sometimes can be found sleeping on cardboard boxes or creating shanties under city scaffolding.

The lens gets turned around as the new CameraCares Photography Mentorship program in conjunction with the New York Press Photographers Association and the Bowery Mission equips some of these same people with cameras of their own. Professional photographer mentors will help these disadvanaged individuals learn a skill that might allow them to earn a living and express themselves as they never had before.

These skills will culminate in an exhibit by those who are served at the Bowery Mission entitled, “the Bowery Collection,” on Saturday, May 6 at the Mission headquarters at 227 Bowery in Manhattan. The exhibit is open to the public.

Richard Liebowitz, founder and director of the program, started doing volunteer work at the Bowery soup kitchen one year ago and discovered many disadvantaged people just needed direction and mentorship.

Liebowitz, a copyright attorney and avid photographer, said that while volunteering, he discovered that many poor people in the shelter programs “just needed to get back on their feet and improve their lives.”

“I found that while feeding people, many were just looking for support and guidance in their lives – many don’t have families and are living day to day,” Liebowitz said. “At the mission, people are getting three hot meals a day, but we can give them more and a light bulb went off – wouldn’t it be great if we could help Bowery Mission clients, interested in photography – help them learn composition, lighting, visual storytelling. They are on the streets all day and they see life and may be they have an eye for it.”

Liebowitz joined the mission with the New York Press Photographers Association and four working photographers became mentors. Canon USA loaned out cameras to the participants and Liebowitz provided backpacks and Amazon Kindles loaded with the editing application “Photoshop,” so that mentees could upload and manage images.

Bruce Cotler, president of the NYPPA and a professional photographer for 40 years, has served as a mentor to Bowery client Heriberto Juarez, a Mexican immigrant with limited English, has already visited Central Park, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and plans to accompany Juarez to Chinatown.

“We are usually photographing everyone so it’s nice to be helping people to get on their feet and give them something they may become passionate about and even make a career from,” Cotler said. “They are now out there trying to make beautiful art and meet people – this will help them get their lives back on track.”

Currently, sessions for participants run weekly for 10 weeks. Each mentoring session can run two hours and up to an entire day. In addition to helping clients learn photography, they also create “mentorship bonds,” that expand discussions to life experiences.

“They are not just talking about cameras, but what is going on in their life and how a mentor can help – even just to lend a friendly ear,” Liebowitz said. “The mentee relates about difficult times, leaping hurdles of life – they often have heart-to-heart talks about life’s obstacles. At the same time, they learn a skill of setting up portraits, understanding depth of field or just knowing when to take a photo – reading emotions. They can go on to become freelancers, pro photographers just by learning personal skills and how to interact with people.”

Liebowitz said the exhibit on May 6 will allow the public to purchase pictures or even license them for publication with the profits going to the photographer.

Debra Rothenberg, a pro photographer known for entertainment, concerts and most notably Bruce Springsteen pictures,said she finds mentoring, “rewarding that someone I’m mentoring not only is learning but enjoying taking photos.”

“I like giving back to people – I believe in paying it forward,” said Rothenberg, who is also vice president of the NYPPA.

Rothenberg mentored Chanel Caple, a resident of the Women’s Center of the Bowery Mission.

“It reminds me of the first time I was in a darkroom making black & white prints and you say OMG when the print comes out,” Chanel said. “It’s now the same thing in the digital world, when you look at the print on the computer – it takes me back. And I can’t wait to see the excitement when they see the pictures on the wall of the exhibit.

As for her relationship with Chanel, “pretty freak’n awesome.”

“Chanel has the drive, energy, passion and I know Chanel will do well whatever They put their mind to,” Rothenberg said. “I haven’t seent hat much drive in anyone in a long time. And our friendship will not end – when our schedules are open, we will still get together to take pictures – that’s a real success.”

Caple, 31, born and raised in Brooklyn, felt the same way about her mentor.

“From the moment we spoke on Zoom, it seems our relationship was effortless, almost like I knew her long before I met her,” said Caple, who currently lives at the Bowery Women’s Mission in Harlem for the past year, having lost her job and home after a “mental crisis.”

“She was so kind and giving of her knowledge – we’d meet up and I’d give her an idea of what I’d want to create and she was more than willing to be supportive and share ideas and vision of the things I wanted to work on and assist me in being able to capture what I saw in my mind.”

“This has been a great opportunity to get back on my feet in a place where I can be stable again.”

Caple believes her photography will help her move towards getting a job and becoming independent again.

“I am grateful to have met Debbie and build upon our relationship – I have so much to learn, can’t wait for the opportunity to learn and at the same time, I’m job searching trying to get back into customer service with fitness as my passion. I’m trying to become stable again with financial needs and my further knowledge in photography, it’s all like a breath of fresh air.”

Greg Vadala Vocational Specialist at the Bowery Mission that serves the homeless and hungry since the 1870s, said the mentor program is a boon to his clients.

“Anytime you can offer a new skill and possibly turn it into a full-time or at least part-time income, may be sell some pictures – if they are passionate about it, it can be an income stream or even a hobby that gives a sense of well being to live,” said Vadala who deals with 45 men at the Bowery Mission in lower Manhattan.

“Boosting self esteem, while building skills while developing an enrichment to life is beautiful. People who’ve done it, enjoyed the process of what they got to learn, and we look forward to others who want to do it.”

Anyone interested in mentoring, sponsoring or purchasing any of the pictures from the Bowery Mission at the exhibit on May 6, may contact [email protected]

Coastal and seascape photography can be such a wonderful genre to shoot, but there’s a lot more to it than just pointing your camera at the ocean and pressing a button. When it’s not done right, you’ll end up with reflections on the water and sand in your shoes. Like any other style of photography, there’s much more to consider than you might think, so we’ve put this guide together to help you get the most out of your seascape images.

In this beginners guide to seascape photography we’ll be covering things to looks for in a camera and lenses, as well as accessories, tips on finding locations, and some settings to use to achieve the results you want.

You might find taking a peek at our beginners guide to wildlife photography helpful too (and perhaps our list of the best wildlife photography cameras) if you want to photograph some seaside animals. Or, if you’re interested in nighttime photography, then you can shoot for the stars with our beginners guide to astrophotography and night for day astrophotography guide.

What camera should you use?

When it comes to choosing a camera for shooting seascapes, one of the most important factors is making sure the camera is weather sealed. Cameras can be subjected to splashes, wind, and sand when shooting seascapes, so it’s really important to make sure your camera is protected against the elements when you’re out shooting.

Sensor size doesn’t necessarily matter too much here — most beginners will likely be using four-thirds or crop sensors which is more than adequate. The size and weight of the camera is generally down to personal preference. Small, compact mirrorless cameras are easier to carry around, which is particularly beneficial if your location isn’t very accessible. On the other hand, heftier cameras, like DSLRs, would be more stable in windier, coastal weather, so there’s a trade-off with either option.

In terms of the camera’s capabilities, there aren’t many features that are specific to seascapes to think about, which is good. However, we’d always recommend getting a camera that has good autofocus and tracking (you never know when you might want to photograph surfers), and a decent FPS rate for shooting in drive mode. A tilt or fully articulating rear screen can also come in handy if you’re shooting low down to the ground and want to see your composition.

What lens should you use?

Like cameras, you really want to make sure your lens is weather sealed from the elements, not only to prevent dust spots and splashes on the glass, but to also protect the inner workings of the lens. Seascape photography is one of the photography styles where your equipment is most exposed to multiple elements, so it’s really important to take the steps to protect your gear. 

When it comes to focal length, zoom lenses tend to be favored here due to their versatility. To start off with, something like a 24-70 mm would be ideal. You want to be able to shoot wide enough to fit everything in if you’re shooting an entire scene, but the higher 70 mm end will enable you to isolate certain subjects or details. While telephoto lenses do have their place in seascape photography, they usually play second fiddle to the wider focal lengths.

The aperture of a lens doesn’t matter too much for beginners, but we’d always recommend going wider so your camera doesn’t struggle in low light conditions. Plus, if you want to be able to freeze the movement of the water, a faster lens will definitely help with that.

Prime lenses are undoubtedly fantastic quality, however, we wouldn’t recommend them to beginner photographers due to their fixed focal length. That said, prime lenses are a great way to challenge yourself and improve your creativity by only bringing one focal length lens with you on a shoot.

What settings should you use?

With seascape photography, you’re generally going to be creating one of two effects in the water: freezing the movement of the crashing waves, or slowing the movement to create flowing, milky water. Both of these effects are achieved by adjusting the shutter speed. 

If you’re looking to freeze the movement of the water to capture dramatic waves, you’ll want a fast shutter speed (as fast as your camera can handle depending on the amount of light). However, if you’re looking to create the look of soft, flowing water, you will need a slower shutter speed. Generally, anything from around 1/50 and under will do the trick, but do experiment with different shutter speeds as each one will create a different effect. There’s no right or wrong answer, it just depends on what you prefer. 

To start off with, try putting the camera into shutter priority while you experiment with shutter speeds, and the camera will choose the correct aperture and ISO for you. For freezing the action of crashing waves, it can help to have the camera on drive mode so you can capture multiple frames at a time.

What to look for

Taking seascapes isn’t just photographing the water, though. Think about the scene as a whole, and what the focal point of your image is going to be. There’s an abundance of subjects to shoot at the coast: beaches, cliffs, sea stacks, natural arches, lighthouses, shipwrecks… the list goes on!

Try looking for textures and patterns that add to the scene, and ask yourself: “What’s the story here?” Adding people into your images is a great way to add scale, especially if they are stood on top of a cliff, and you can easily add texture by including patterns in the sand or some long grasses.

Location & weather conditions

Another important thing to consider is your location and the weather conditions. Flat light or bright sunny days don’t tend to make the best photos, so it’s great to practice seascape photography when it’s either dark and stormy or in the warm and soft evening light. Windy days are great for capturing crashing waves against rocks and sea stacks for those really dramatic shots.

Think about how your location will look at different times of the day: Where does the sun rise and set? What parts of your scene will be lit by the sun at certain times of day? What are the tide times? By taking the time to plan out your shoot, you can get a variety of different images all from the same spot.

There are some really useful apps to help choose a location, and many of them even tell you where the sun is going to be in your scene. Google Maps (opens in new tab) is great for location scouting, and for sunrise and sunset information and locations, try The Photographer’s Ephemeris (opens in new tab) (sign up for free) or PhotoPills (opens in new tab) (costs $10.99, but full of fun, helpful features).

What accessories are useful?

A problem you often find with seascape photography, as well as when shooting any kind of moving water, is you’ll get glare and reflections off the water that can be very distracting in your image. Using a polarizing filter can eliminate the reflections and give you a much cleaner image, and it also makes the colors pop more. You can also make use of a neutral density (ND) filter which acts a bit like sunglasses for your camera. If it’s a really bright day or you want to slow down the movement of the water without letting too much light in — the ND filter will reduce the amount of light going in. They’re available in different intensities, and the type you get will depend on how long of an exposure you want to shoot.

If you want to slow down the movement of the water, you’ll also need a tripod. Two handy tips here; firstly, bring a bottle of water to rinse off any sand from the tripod, and this will also get rid of any salt left from the sea water; and secondly, when you’re putting your tripod on the sand, make sure you extend the bottom feet section, so if there is any sand left once you’ve rinsed it off, it will only be in that bottom section (we learned this one the hard way).

Don’t forget about protecting yourself too. If you’re going to be shooting with your tripod in the water, then wellies or waterproof shoes are a must. A waterproof jacket won’t go amiss either.

Finally, in post you can transform your snaps by touching up your photos using photo editing software (such as PhotoShop (opens in new tab)) and one of the best laptops for photo editing. It’s great for helping to fix any wonky shorelines or blown out clouds in the sky.