(eerie music playing..)
Could these 'coccoons' have been left by extraterrestrials planning the domination of our planet?
Read 'the story' below to discover the truth! 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/466877725...
Also, 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!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @19
5-second exposure @F14
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9
+ Singh-ray reverse soft edge grad 0.9
(I'm not sure about the singh-ray filter. I had to desaturate the blue channel in the sky
to make it look natural. The sky looked too blue in the camera compared to my eye.
Also, the edge of the grad is too hard, despite it being called a soft grad.)
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, well actually these 2-3 ft tall (1m) rounded rocks were embedded in sandstone layers. Then, as the soft layers eroded, the harder sections separated and were eroded by the sea into these round shapes. Some were round even while embedded in the sandstone layer, so they must have been formed and then were locked up in the layers and released in place in more recent times. So they have been eroded twice at least! I could not find out how they originally became round.
Here is a good explanation showing some of these rocks still embedded in the sandstone layers. There is even a video in there.
www.gem-n-i.org/news/oct08.php
This is a -1.0 ft low tide, and I used the reflective water as best I could. A medium tide (+2/+3 ft (1m) is best here for showing the water moving through the many dozens of round rocks. It is called 'Bowling Ball Beach' but these are far too big to be rolled around by hand. Actually the smallest round rock is the size of a bowling ball. See the notes above.
There was a perfect medium tide at sunset on the three nights I was here, but not a cloud was in the sky. So I came out at sunrise when there were a few clouds. They were gone an hour later, so I lucked out!
These are similar to the Moeraki Builders of New Zealand, but there are more of them here and they are more densly packed. And they look just as good!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moeraki_Boulders
The map shows exactly where this is. It is an easy 1/2 mile hike from a small turnout just north of Schooner Gulch. Once you get to the cliff, there is a path with wood boards tied together with steel cable. The hill has eroded under the last part of the 'stairs', so you have to climb down, almost like on a very shaky ladder!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Other stuff
---------------------------------------------------------------------
See my Flickr profile for a link to
my newly designed website.
My landscape photography e-book is up to 310 pages and is ready for a final edit. then I'll write my newsletter again. (The book is about how to learn landscape photography from the old masters of painting.) It is in pdf format, but the conversion to ePub (iPad) is looking good too.
Go to my Flickr profile for small group workshop information and to sign up for my free monthly newsletter. In the newsletter, I will answer questions and talk about theories and techniques. No spam will be sent!
Follow me on Twitter!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: ocean sea sunrise sunset sand beach rock sky wave seascape landscape bowling ball beach mendocino california point arena Moeraki travel vacation nature erosion usa canon 5d mkII sandstone Schooners gulch PhotoContest-TNC11
© All Rights Reserved
What could be better than a beautifully lit evening at the beach, enjoying the pounding surf as it tries to destroy ... erm... .. I mean embrace everything in its path including you and your camera? Sometimes it is best to turn down a nice hug! 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/462708868...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @17
1/10-second exposure @F13
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm) 0.9 + 0.75 (5 1/2 stops total)
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 50
Small Slik tripod with Manfrotto pistol grip ball head
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
Keen water shoes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
McClures beach (30mi NW of San Francisco) makes me nervous when there is moderate to big surf. (This is moderate!) The waves come in big with no resistance. There are many rougue waves, which make for lots of dramatic moments as long as you stay alert enough to aviod being obliterated! Every minute or so, a large wave strikes this rock, so I waited for light to strike the cliffs and moved into this spot. After about 20 shoot-and-run attempts, I finally got this. Sometimes the waves were too big, but this one was just right. When they are really big, they just fill up the frame looking like a big blob.
I'll repeat this warning... Always have an escape plan formulated in your mind in advance of heading in close to the action. When a big one hits, you have no time to think, but you do have time to execute your planned exit strategy!
This was taken during a winter workshop with Dave Fitsimmons. Thanks to everyone who attended. See other photos in my new group.
www.flickr.com/groups/patricksmithworkshops/
The map shows exactly where this is. It is moderately easy 1/2 mile downhill hike from the parking lot. But you have to hike back up!
See my Flickr profile for a link to my 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/
Tags: canon 5d mkii canon5dmkii california usa mcclures landscape seascape point reyes national seashore kehoe monolith ocean wind storm wave surf marin sand cloud
© All Rights Reserved
Here is a less-stormy view of the rock at Point Lobos, California made about 20 minutes after #3. 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/460662340...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @20
1/4-second exposure @F16
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9 + 0.75 (5 1/2 stops total)
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 200
Joby Gorillapod (flexible tripod so I could lay down and not fall off the cliff!)
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After shooting for about 30 minutes, the sun began to set so I got back here as the clouds began to evaporate. Fortunately they hung around long enough to add a warm glow to the sky. So I bumped up the ISO to 200 to keep the 1/4-sec exposure and angled the dark part of the filters over the brightest part of the sky. I took about 25 photos in total on this evening including 5 around this time. The trick to getting this water color is to wait until the water calms down, which makes it a deep grenish-blue because the bubbles have risen to the top and evaporated. Then shoot just when the first nice wave curls around the rock. If you do not wait, the water will be churned up and too bright to photograph!
(Here is the rest of the description from #3.)
Point Lobos, at the north end of Big Sur just south of Carmel, California (100 miles - 160km south of San Francisco) could keep a photographer busy for months or even years. It is a peninsula that has been sculptured by large Pacific waves over millions of years and the results are stunning. This is one of the western-most points of rock and is probably 50 feet tall at high tide. Sometimes waves wash over the entire rock and they did during a big set just after this photo was made. This is a wider view with more light striking the cliff face and sea than my previous attempt which is in the 2010 Nature Conservancy calendar for November.
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/275016883...
The biggest hazard is getting low enough to have the tops of the rock rise above the horizon. Then you must literally hang off the cliff to get an open view around the right foreground rock. So the Gorillapod allowed me to lay on the rock and not fall in! Also, I had to wait for a seagull to land on the top of each rock, though I made some with no seagull just in case. In a big print, the seagull really helps.
The map shows exactly where this is. It is an easy <1 mile hike from a small parking lot.
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/
.
.
Tags: ocean sea sunrise sunset sand beach rock sky wave seascape landscape pinnacle rock point lobos monterey carmel california travel vacation fog stratus nature canon 5d mkii canon 5d mkii usa granite PhotoContest-TNC10
© All Rights Reserved
This unmarked lane in the Napa Valley in California's wine country makes me wonder who lives down there and what sort of wine do they produce! 30-second exposure, no HDR.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
Please see the 1200 pixel version for the full softened effect of 30 seconds at midday!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/456699353...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-105L @97
Hoya NDX400 (9-stop dark circular ND filter)
30-second exposure @F13
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
Small Slik tripod, Manfrotto pistol-grip ball head (the best!)
No polarizer.
ISO 50
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
No water shoes or bare feet required!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A temporary break from the seascapes...
I am not sure where this leads, but this is the first in a series that will cover each of the 4 seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, because the leaves will turn Red in late November and then be bare for a couple of months until spring in February or early March. it will look different each time.
I was heading up the Napa valley on a warm day last weekend, when I was once again FORCED to stop and take a shot. Well, actually I waited for the sun to almost go down behind the hills to get warmer light, then I took the verrrrry long shot through the large automatic gate! The leaves moving in the breeze softened the look of the trees for a more impressionistic look and feel. During daylight hours, you have to do something extra to avoid a photo looking like a snapshot. Actually, this would look better with a wet street, but the dry season that lasts until November will make that difficult to pull off!
The map shows exactly where this is. It is right off the road, but no easy parking is available. And make sure nowone is driving towards you!
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/
.
.
Tags: landscape napa wine california vineyard travel vacation calistoga st helena vanishing point sycamore grape vine mountain sun spring usa rutherford 5d mkii 5dmkii
© All Rights Reserved
Another unusual storm visited California on what should be the dry season. So on a last minute decision, I headed to the most difficult spot to photograph I could find with a high tide. Shark Fin Cove! 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/454846099...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @17
1/5-second exposure @F13
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm - 4x6in) 0.9
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 200 (I bumped it up to get a shorter exp. Waves were moving quickly)
Small Slik tripod
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
Bare feet and shorts for the inevitable drenching, which did happen!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shark Fin Cove, as it is known to the locals is near Bonny Doon Beach in Davenport just a few miles north of Santa Cruz California. It is a 1.5 hour drive from my house so I don't get here often. But it is so outstanding that despite the fact that I've been here several times with nothing to show for it, I keep coming back. There are tall cliffs on both sides and the waves get focused into the cove and around the fin in the middle. So it seems like avery 5th wave is a rogue wave! The cliffs also focus the thunder from the waves, which heightens the nervous feeling of doom.
Of course, the best vantage point is out on this sandstone ledge created by the shelter of the fin. But the waves pound both sides and cut you off from an escape during a high tide because there is a vertical cliff 3 feet behind the tripod as it is sitting here. It is hard to describe this place, but basically to the left a few feet from the camera is a sea arch (almost a cave open on both sides.) The water goes in as you see here and then it circles behind you and exits back to sea on the right side.
So, when you get onto this ledge you are committing yourself with no way out. Not a problem during a low tide, but if you want to get close to the action during high tide you have to find a good spot on the cliff behind you to brace yourself and hold up the camera on the end of the tripod. So plan that out first. The rocks are slippery so watch out.
Also, you need lots of clouds because the sun sets on the right side of the frame, rendering the fin and cliffs as dark silhouettes. So even lighting is important. Or, go at sunrise.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
The map shows exactly where this is. It is a moderate hike down a somewhat steep 100 vertical ft. trail. Watch out for tons of poison Oak!
See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
.
Tags: landscape seascape sandstone cliff sea arch reflection ocean sea california davenport santa cruz shark fin cove bonny doon wave water sunset cloud sky nature vacation travel sand canon 5d mkii 5dmkii
© All Rights Reserved