The amazing quality of the light is what impressed me first when I witnessed this scene. It was so intense that I had to slightly desaturate the reddest part of the sky to retain detail! See the big version. No HDR!
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Settings etc.:
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1/4-second exposure @F11
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm 0.9 + 0.6
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
Canon 5D
Canon 17-40L @ 18
ISO 50
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
On this stretch of coastline on Isla Mujeres, the trade winds blow constantly, sending clouds and storms from Africa and keeping temperatures moderate. These rocks were under the sand until hurricane Wilma scored a direct hit on this area with wind gusts exceeding 200 mph. The newly exposed rocks were sharpened by the winds, so my legs got rather badly scratched up by the time I arrived at this spot. In this photo, a tropical
storm warning had just been issued and the winds were kicking up increasingly large surf, but the storm turned and headed out to sea later that day.
I used the light to show the reflectivity and color of the water. Also, the light filtering through the cloud deck shows its layers. A colorful sunrise is nice but this is more about the warm breeze blowing along the water and through the clouds. Fortunately the sky opened up for just a minute. Most of the time, it was either overcast or too bright. Good even filtered light is usually best when shooting towards the sun. Bright light and blues skies might be good for tourist brochures, but low warm light enhances the mood of an image.
See my profile for a link to my website where I have limited edition prints and less expensive open edition prints.
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Tags: Isla Mujeres mexico landscape seascape beach sunrise clouds ocean sea Atlantic gulf of mexico cancun quintana roo hurricane SearchTheBest vacation wave paradise sky 5d 17-40L travel wallpaper topf1000
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The sun sets right at the end of an old pier. What luck!... or was it?
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
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Settings etc.:
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Feb. 5, 2009: I just noticed that this picture was displayed in a Flickr blog about 100 million geotagged photos!
blog.flickr.net/en/2009/02/05/100000000-geotagged-photos-...
or
code.flickr.com/blog/2009/02/04/100000000-geotagged-photo...
30-second exposure @F22
LEE soft ND grad 0.9 angled 9:30am-3:30pm
I used Lee 150x100mm soft ND grads with a Cokin z-pro holder.
Canon 5D
Canon 17-40L
ISO 50
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
A few days before I made this image, I noticed how the sun would soon be moving over each day until it was setting right behind this old eroded pier as the summer solstice approached. So I knew to return to make a long exposure at sunset. It is good to arrive at a location with an open mind because you never know what to expect. I set aside my expectations and observe what elements attract the eye. In the RAW file, this image had an overwhelming amount of color, so I had to de-saturate the sky in order to get back the details, which had become lost in blobs of bright orange.
In October of 2005, Hurricane Wilma scored a direct hit on this island with category 5 winds gusting over 200 miles per hour. Many beaches were stripped of their sand, revealing old features not seen in many years, like this old pier on the north side of the island. I was told that before the hurricane, these pilings were under many feet of sand and that the beach used to extend well past the last post seen here.
On the first day of my trip, the sun had set to the left of end of the pier, but I knew that over the next few days, the sun would move a little to the right each day. (In landscape photography it pays to know how the natural world works, just as a bird photographer must know the habits of the birds to get the best shots.) On the last day of my trip, the sun set right at the end of the pier. I was ready and had an image in my head of what I hoped I could capture. Fortunately the sun dropped below the clouds at the last minute and became visible right as the sun set. I had taken photographs on the previous evenings just in case this evening turned out to be cloudy just to be on the safe side.
So, I was lucky to be on vacation during this time, but the rest was planning!
Tags: isla mujeres mexico quintana roo cancun tulum vanishing point FPG vacation travel sea ocean landscape seascape pier sky sun sunset wallpaper nature gulf gulf of mexico long exposure sand warm OracOGP Ostrellina topf1000
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