Finally we had a few clouds come in yesterday morning. A brilliant red sunrise to the right lit up this scene nicely for a 2-minute exposure. No HDR required! Super-easy to process with good light. Feel free to try this composition. I do not own it! Nobody owns a composition.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
See the rust flakes on the chain in the super-detailed 1500 pixel
version!!
(though I must admit that it is softer than the verion I see now in
Photoshop on my PC)
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/562409707...
Here is the same composition under extremely violent conditions. Over
3,600 faves/160,000 views now!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/2969769911
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Details:
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Canon 5D mark II
Canon 17-40L @ 26
(I focused on the front of the chain, then backed off halfway to
infinity mark)
(It is all super sharp in the 5600 pixel version, chain is 1m from
the lens)
Live preview
2-minute exposure @F16 (I wanted lots of DOF, F22 makes things too
soft..diffraction..)
Lee Big Stopper 10-stop super dark glass filter.
(BTW, it dropped out of the filter holder to the
concrete, halfway through one exposure. Not a scratch! Sounded awful
though!)
ISO 160
1 Lee soft grad filter (4x6 inch, 100x150mm, 0.9, 3-stop)
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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Yes, I've done this composition before, but not at sunrise on a spectacular morning. The waves were small which meant lots of reflections were coming off the bridge and the red bricks of the 150 year-old Fort Point.
When the waves are small, it is easy to set up this composition, though you have to be meticulous about it. The chain can not touch the rocks/concrete or it loses its impact. Also, you want the top of that rusty post to not go above the horizon. After a bit of fiddling around, this always seems to be the best composition, at least for me. You can't fiddle around much during big surf or you will be sucked into the bay. No kidding! Be careful here.
Then the sky turned red to the right which turned everything red. The rest was done with the 2-minute exposure, which really brings out the chain nicely. I took a short exposure shot beforehand to test the sharpness and the temperature. Then I put on the dark filter and did a series of long exposures. They always turn out blue-ish compared to the short exposure shots. So I use the short exposure shots as a guide when adjusting the temp in post-processing to get it back to looking natural.
There were lots of runners out but they do not show up in this long exposure. Also, extremely large ships always seem to come and go at sunrise/sunset so you have to anticipate that in a long exposure. They take 2-5 minutes to pass through the scene and have wrecked several trips here in the past because they can often pass by just when the light is the best. Uggh!
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.
Olly Plumstead, blende, and 909 other people added this photo to their favorites.
View 20 more comments
Great Salt Lake Images 17 months ago | reply
Superb capture, Patrick!
Gorgeous natural light!
Dibbson 17 months ago | reply
Very nice composition and detail!
Marco de Waal 17 months ago | reply
Nice picture! Excellent!
Marco
☼Sol.Digital☼ [deleted] 16 months ago | reply
Very nice scenery!
legalwheel 15 months ago | reply
Love the shot, the planning, the execution and the explanation. Thanks for sharing.
stefaniaphoto 15 months ago | reply
Wonderful
KmrksY 13 months ago | reply
Beautiful composition and colors. Great title as well.
Leoraul's Old Account 13 months ago | reply
Another one that came up in my iPad using Images of Music. Excellent!
John_Kennan 13 months ago | reply
Fabulous shot and a classic composition.
Fábio Tamayose 13 months ago | reply
Beautiful
∆lex. 12 months ago | reply
Best Photo I've ever seen of Golden Gate right here
Katherine Shah 12 months ago | reply
Perfect composition and lighting. And thanks for all the details and tips!
☼Sol.Digital☼ [deleted] 10 months ago | reply
Wonderful work!
♥______WELCOME_______♥
Thank for the sharing
Thanks for accept the invite!
It is a pleasure to have you in our group.
♥___CONGRATULATION___♥
♥___Thanks for sharing___♥
lucie.robinson 9 months ago | reply
Beautiful. Love the composition & thanks for sharing the photo info.
Dalia Drulia 9 months ago | reply
Amazing
nick zadeh 7 months ago | reply
Photo is good but ocean water is not good
Dr.MaZzA 6 months ago | reply
This wonderful image deserves to be at:
"2 Thumbs Up"
www.flickr.com/groups/_2_thumbs_up__/
Just clic and add.
kiwijames75 5 months ago | reply
Best shot I have seen of the Golden Gate Bridge, love the foreground.
~Mina~ 2 weeks ago | reply
amazing!!
Rainbowfly 7 days ago | reply
Beautiful!