The sun sets over the Pacific Ocean just north of San Francisco, illuminating ridges formed by the San Andreas fault, which slipped 16 feet at the surface in 1906. The japan quake moved the surface by 15-20ft in the tsunami area and 9 inches in Tokyo, with bigger slippage far offshore. This fault slipped right through the city in 1906! No HDR, though this high contrast situation is perfect for HDR.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
I left the saturation slider on zero despite the vivid colors! I was tempted to desaturate but the greens did not look blown out so I left it alone.
See the 1400 pixel version!!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/567293434...
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Details:
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Canon 5D mark II
Canon 24-105L @ 58 with some cropped of the edges
Live preview
1/6-second exposure @F8
ISO 200
1 Lee soft grad filter (4x6 inch, 100x150mm, 0.9, 3-stop)
1 Singh-Ray 3-stop reverse ND grad filter (4x6 inch)
(Lee filters is having trouble with production,
so I also just got a regular 3-stop ND grad and it looks just like the Lee!)
No polarizer.
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop cs4
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod
Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol-grip ball head
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The Story
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Mt. Tamalpais is the ultimate place to watch the sun set over the Pacific. It is over 2,000 feet (700m) almost straight down to the shoreline and there is commonly low fog drifting though. The San Andreas fault (and erosion) have created lots of undulations and photo opps! It runs left to right just in front of the darker (forested) Bolinas Ridge in the distance and has rippled the surface on either side.
In the summer, there is fog that drifts under this location creating surreal scenes of impressive beauty. In about a month (by the end of May) the green grass dries up and turns a golden brown making this place look completely different. It will be brown until December. It can be very dangerous to shoot here in the summer because the dry grass becomes slippery and as you can see in the foreground, the slope is about 45 degrees with nothing to stop you from sliding 1000 feet into a gully or a tree at the bottom.
I will do this exact composition in the summer to shot how different it is.
The contrast was extreme on this evening so I had to be careful to get the grads into the right place to keep it looking natural. The sky turned an unusual color which I would not believe if I had not seen it myself. When shooting, look closely at the sky and then at your viewfinder to see how accurate the photo is to reality. Remember it so that you can accurately process it later.
In this case, the grass in the viewfinder after the shot had a bluish tint to it that I did not see with my eye, so I desaturated the blue channel in the grassy areas to get it back to a natural green color.
The map shows the exact location.
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Other stuff
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My pictures are featured on the front page of the
state Government. of California website and the new Governor, Jerry Brown's website too. Have a look! It is Flash with my pics cut into layers for a 3-d slideshow. If you are into building apps, the State has opened up lots of data to the public, so check it out!
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Resources:
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A great weather mashup map of the world with local temperatures, weather and nice popups. See where it is hot and not!
www.wunderground.com/wundermap/
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Wave Heights (I choose 'North Pacific from Global')
polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/main_int.html
Or Here:
www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/RP1bw.gif
Photos of every inch of the California coastline from a small plane. Excellent for close in detailed views.
www.californiacoastline.org/
ad.
Tags: landscape sunset grass pacific ocean fault earthquake ridge bolinas stinson beach tamalpais mill valley marin california san francisco redwood laurel bay douglas fir sky cloud BRAVO PhotoContest-TNC11 united states usa
© All Rights Reserved
I came here to enjoy a peaceful sunset. I definitely got it! But how do you make an interesting photo when it is so calm? Read on. No HDR here.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/508622810...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @24
0.2-second exposure @F10
LEE soft ND grads (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9 + 0.75
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 100
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod
Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol-grip ball head
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The Story
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Kapa'a Beach Park is the perfect spot to enjoy a calm and relaxing sunset, far away from the crowds of the more popular beaches. Often, only a few people are fishing and you have the place almost to yourself. The waves here are small and the wind is usually calm. This is where you can find peace! In the distance is a glimpse of Maui behind the clouds.
The problem that I encountered here is that I wanted to make an interesting photo. But usually you need something dramatic and eye catching. The light and clouds looked really good, but I had to walk around for a while to find an interesting foreground with some water motion. The rocks were really uneven and I had to get into a very unfomfortable position to see this view through the lens. But it was the only way to convey the beauty of this place in a photo. When we are at a beautiful place, we can feel it and our eyes can look around at everything. But since a photo is a single thing, you have to include everything that you can find into the frame so that you can transport the viewer to this moment!
The map shows the exact location.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Other stuff
---------------------------------------------------------------------
My pictures are featured on the front page of the newly redesigned
The state Gov. of California website. Have a look! It is Flash with my pics cut into layers for a 3-d slideshow. If you are into building apps, the State has opened up lots of data to the public, so check it out!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Wave Heights (I choose 'North Pacific from Global')
polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/main_int.html
Or Here:
www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/RP1bw.gif
Photos of every inch of the California coastline from a small plane. Excellent for close in detailed views.
www.californiacoastline.org/
.
.
Tags: landscape seascape lava cloud sky ocean sea water wave big island kapa'a kohala united states usa
© All Rights Reserved
The sun rises in remote Waipio Valley. This was a bit of a challenge, but I survived! No HDR.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/499832915...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @19
1.6-second exposure @F9
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9 + 0.9
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 50
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod
Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol-grip ball head
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The Story
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Waipio valley is carved out of the side of an extinct volcano. It has Hakalaoa falls, dropping an uninterrupted 1200+ft (400m) making it the 27th tallest vertical drop in the world according to this waterfall database ordered by 'sheer drop', not total drop.
www.world-waterfalls.com/database.php?s=N&t=H&ord...
Is is nearly uninhabited due to it's shape which attracts and magnifies tsunamis. A few taro farmers live here and that is about it.
To get here for sunrise:
I had to get up at about 4am
Drive to the tourist overlook
...(above the top right of the frame, where most of the flickr photos from this location are shot)
Hike in the dark down a wet and slippery road that drops over 1,000 feet in about 1 mile.
...(actually I had to run because it was getting light quicker than I had anticipated)
Run back about a mile to the beach, hoping that I did not miss the sunrise!
Attempt to cross the river (behind the camera here) and give up because it was too deep.
Get back here and start shooting.
The waves were chaotic so I timed it for the moments with the most reflected color in the water instead of the best wave shapes.
This place is incredible and if you ever make it to the Big Island of Hawaii, you MUST plan on staying the entire day. Of course, if you go here for sunrise you either have to pack in all your food for the day or hike back up and return later. It is hot and humid so it is not an easy climb back out unless you go slow. I stopped on the way back up to do some long exposures so it was not too difficult. But you must be in shape! I'll show one of those photos later.
You can take a 4wd vehicle down the road, but don't attempt it in a 2wd rental car unless you have worked on your technique for jumping out of a moving car that is about to roll down a cliff! I'm not kidding. There are rusty wrecks at the bottom. Surfers come here for sunrise or sleep overnight in their cars, so just after I made this shot on a deserted beach, the surfers get into the water. Those lucky guys! Of course, then the surf became perfect but the good light was gone. There were about 4 cars there that morning. Still, it felt deserted and remote.
You MUST come here! Did I mention that??
The map shows the exact location.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Other stuff
---------------------------------------------------------------------
My pictures are featured on the front page of the newly redesigned
The state Gov. of California website. Have a look! It is Flash with my pics cut into layers for a 3-d slideshow. If you are into building apps, the State has opened up lots of data to the public, so check it out!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Wave Heights (I choose 'North Pacific from Global')
polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/main_int.html
Or Here:
www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/RP1bw.gif
Photos of every inch of the California coastline from a small plane. Excellent for close in detailed views.
www.californiacoastline.org/
.
.
Tags: landscape seascape waipio big island hawaii usa ocean lava rock sea pacific wavecloud sky united states
© All Rights Reserved
What do you do when there is a huge storm battering the coastline with 50mph sustained winds? Read on!
Equal interest above and below the horizon (though some will disagree!), so I used a 50/50 composition. No HDR.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
See the super-big 1600 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/433230779...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @21
1/10-second exposure @F8
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm) 0.9 + inverted 0.75 to darken the bright water a bit
(see the photo notes about where I placed the filters)
(This would be a good time for a singh-ray grad with the dark part in the middle)
(But I get more control by moving two grads around)
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 50
Small Slik tripod.. a 2x4 is not recommended in high winds!
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
Sturdy hiking boots.
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Story:
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Back in January, a series of huge storms ripped into California with winds so strong that on this day, I could not even get near the beach to attempt any photography. The beaches were covered in foggy-looking banks of salt spray and the wind would cause too much camera shake even on a sturdy tripod. So I had to come up with something interesting from a high vantage point. Not an easy thing when you are known for getting into the water to catch a dramatic wave breaking on a foreground rock. So there better be some major drama happening to catch the eye.
It was frustrating because the light was awesome through the storm clouds and the sea was huge, with big waves even over the open ocean as you can see in the distance in the big version.
So, I walked around on the cliffs with the wind nearly knocking me over several times. I was looking for a small vortex behind a cliff where the winds are relatively calm but I can still get an open view. Also I was looking for a spot where the waves were breaking in a picturesque sort of way. Most of the coastline was just an area of frothing chaos.
I got to a point where I could see the Point Bonita Lighthouse and San Francisco and I saw a spot with very easy access on the well-used trail that leads to the lighthouse. So I hiked around the back of the hill and down to the open spot just before you go into the tunnel/cave that leads to the lighthouse. Hundreds of people walk by this spot every day but today there was nowone. I wonder why? It was so scenic...hehe....
Amazingly enough, even though this spot is only about 100 feet above the sea, if you crouch down you can get inside of a 3-foot (1m) high invisible bubble of calm air. The dropoff is completely vertical and the wind (blowing directly towards the camera) comes off the water, and right over the top of you! If you were to stand up, you could easily get knocked over but it was so strange to be in this little bubble.
So, once I found the best spot, I set up with the camera perhaps 1-foot above the ground and then time the waves for the best effect. Sometimes bands of rain would pass through and I had to abandon my position to hide behind a cliff.
Whew!
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The map shows exactly where this is.
See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
.
---------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
---------------------------------------------------------
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Wave Heights (I choose 'North Pacific from Global')
polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/main_int.html
Or Here:
www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/RP1bw.gif
Photos of every inch of the California coastline from a small plane. Excellent for close in detailed views.
www.californiacoastline.org/
I get my cameras, filters, etc. here:
www.bhphotovideo.com/
or
www.adorama.com/
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Tags: landscape seascape cordell bank sunset thunderstorm cumulonimbus clouds sky surf wave sea rock pacific storm winter wind california marin sausalito rodeo beach usa canon 5d mkii 5dmkii
© All Rights Reserved
I went to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin festival last weekend. A 1535 (697kg) monster pumpkin won the contest. Then of course since I was near the ocean, I looked around for some seascape action! No HDR.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/510525284...
---------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
---------------------------------------------------------
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @17.5
(I never go out all the way, too fuzzy on the edges)
0.3-second exposure @F14
LEE soft ND grads (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9 + 0.75
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 100
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod
Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol-grip ball head
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The fog began to move in as the sun went down and it looked hopeless. However, after looking at the satellite pictures on my little 3g notebook pc, I noticed a hole in the fog forming at Gray Whale Cove Beach. (A great spot for whale watching.) The rest of the coast was socked in by low fog. This beach is about 10 minutes south of Pacifica, California. It is an easy drive but a somewhat less-easy place to approach. It is surrounded by cliffs and the parking lot is across the very busy highway 1 so you have to dodge freeway speed cars coming around curves in either direction. Fortunately if you do not become road-kill, there is a solid set of stairs which provide easy access and a nice workout on the way back up with no danger whatsoever.
The soft golden granite sand is perfect for walking and photographing too. Here is a view down the beach looking south as low fog slides under a brilliant red sunset in the high clouds. This is a super-dangerous beach in the winter stormy season and even on this somewhat calm evening, surges woudl wash over these rocks every few minute with little notice. Ther is something about the underwater topology that makes for lots of chaos. But what beautiful chaos it is!
The map shows the exact location.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Other stuff
---------------------------------------------------------------------
My pictures are featured on the front page of the newly redesigned
The state Gov. of California website. Have a look! It is Flash with my pics cut into layers for a 3-d slideshow. If you are into building apps, the State has opened up lots of data to the public, so check it out!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Wave Heights (I choose 'North Pacific from Global')
polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/main_int.html
Or Here:
www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/RP1bw.gif
Photos of every inch of the California coastline from a small plane. Excellent for close in detailed views.
www.californiacoastline.org/
.
.
Tags: landscape seascape art gray whale cove gray whale granite sand sunset pacifica california fog cloud sky rock ocean sea wave water PhotoContest-TNC11
© All Rights Reserved
