High Tide at Weston Beach, Approaching Storm. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 10, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
High tide and storm surf under clouds of an approaching winter storm at Weston Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.
This photograph was made from near the edge of Weston Beach during high tide on a day when a large Pacific storm was approaching. In more benign conditions and at low tide you would might exposed rocks and relatively quiet water in the area near the bottom of the frame – but not on this day! While I’ve ventured out onto the rocks at the left edge of the scene at low tide during the less-active summer months that would have been a very foolish thing to attempt on this day!
As with the photograph I posted yesterday, I thought that this might end up as a black and white image – and I still think it might. However, for now I have decided to go with the “barely-color” rendition. Because of the overcast and the haze created by the spray from the large surf, the colors in the original scene were very muted.
This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email
keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, monterey, carmel, peninsula, highlands, coast, shore, highway, pacific, ocean, sea, bird, rocks, island, seascape, landscape, wave, surf, rugged, bluff, sky, clouds, storm, approaching, atmosphere, recession, silhouette, travel, scenic, weston, beach, high, tide, stock
Joshau, thanks for dropping by and leaving a note.
Long exposures are one of my things and I like to work with them quite a bit. I guess that it is obvious that that isn’t a major feature of my “style,” but I love working with long exposures at times, and I carry a 9-stop ND and a CP that I’ll use to extend exposure time. (You might find a few other long exposure shots in my gallery that might not be so obvious, since they don’t always go for the “misty” effect that sometimes comes from surf shots. I’m betting there might be at least a dozen in there. Here is one example.)
The recent seascapes that I’ve posted haven’t used the long exposure approach because I’ve been lucky to experience some pretty wild winter surf here along the Pacific shoreline.
One other thing about the crashing waves – I often time my shots to avoid the largest crash and resulting towers of spray. I actually find the water running back down off the rocks after the wave to be more interesting in many cases.
In any case, the shoreline is a source of endless fascination and endless photographic possibilities!
Take care,
Dan
I’ve seen probably only 3 out of many beach shots you got that were taken with a really long exposure. Is it not your thing?
Most of the beach shots that I’ve done (not that many really) incorporate a long exposure. I would even stack filters if necessary. If I were to head out to the beach today, I would probably come back with shots with a long exposure.
I probably see the value and the majestic of crashing waves but I haven’t seen ones worth the shot.