There are many opinions, as there are landscape photographers, on the best time to photograph the Mediterranean. The summer has its charms, but in Late fall and winter, the wild storms accompanied by torrential rain are my preferred choice.
The Mediterranean, from Ashdod, Israel, is my winter haven. It is where the water is most temperamental. It is also when it is most dangerous. Sun weaves in and out of heavy cloud cover, and without warning, clouds darken, winds whip against the shore, and for the next hour or two, one can hardly see their hand in front of their face.
It is the best time in my experience to set one's camera on a tripod for long exposure to clouds and the sea. The downside is being caught in the water when suddenly and without warning, you are surrounded by the pull of the tides and water, which will take you and your camera out to sea.
The day I took this picture, I was aided by my intern, whose job was to stand by my side and hold my tripod firmly in place for the 20-second exposure, which in a storm seemed an eternity. Over the many years of winter Mediterranean photography, I have observed that sea birds are the most accurate predictors of when the sea is the most dangerous. When they are exceeding calm, with no bird moving from its perch, a tidal wave of water is not far behind.
So it was that day. After I took a 20 and 40-second exposure, we hurried back to shore, packed up quickly, and made it to the car. The skies opened, and a fire hose of water held us in the beach shore parking lot until it let up, and it was sunny skies again; the Sea Birds took off and were out of sight.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor