shooting in pitch blackness

[delphinE30]

so i went to the beach recently and my girlfriend wanted pics on the beach at night...
it was too dark that the camera did not know what to focus on.i would hit the shutter a few times with out moving, sometimes they took, sometimes not. the ocean spray didnt help that either lol.
i left the settings on auto...but is there anything i could maybe do to without extra lighting or anything? or is that just how its gonig to be? haha
thanks

[grimm]

use manual mode, and manual focus?

[jspek]

manual and focus to infinity unless youre trying to get a shot up close of something.

[delphinE30]

so what if i cant see what to focus on? wells heres a few that i got.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll8/josh87is/DSC_0610.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll8/josh87is/DSC_0575.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll8/josh87is/DSC_0590.jpg

first 3 i found dont think they are the best but...

[jspek]

do you have a focus assist light on your camera?

[delphinE30]

o yea i do...i could have used that dam!!! lol next time haha

[Saab93Aero]

if you were on the auto settings, i think it should have been coming on by itself.

also, you could have used a small flash light - shine it on your subject, let the camera auto focus and then take the pic.

or maybe even just your phone, if its bright enough.

just make sure you got a good grip on you camera, since you'll then be holding it one handed, on the beach, by the water.