The Portal
Featured on WorldPictureNetwork's 'The Week in Blogs' - 05/19/06
Winner of the 200 Views Weekly Photo Contest - 04/06/06
-Added to the Cream of the Crop pool as my best picture of 2006
See 'The Portal' on black
This photo was taken on December 22, 2005 using a Canon EOS 10D.
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Comments and faves
Chris Lombardi, A.Kumari, Sean Cross, spitfirelas, and 462 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Chris Lombardi (77 months ago | reply)
god that's nice. one of the best under-the-pier shots i've seen.
acastellano (77 months ago | reply)
thanks chris! i was fortunate that i had my finger on the shutter when the surfer passed through. i have a bunch of similar shots without the surfer and they are nice, but this was far and away my favorite.
scorpia22 (77 months ago | reply)
I especially like the way he is looking AWAY, towards the mist and the ocean, rather than at the photographer. and the contrast between the claustrophobic feel under the pier, and the feel of the (unseen) open ocean that all surfers love. GREAT MOOD to this picture.
Giampaolo Macorig (77 months ago | reply)
wow! the mist, the surfer, the mood of the shot! great! 321
WAYNE HIEBERT kingston photographer (77 months ago | reply)
wonderful photo..terrific atmosphere!
lime_anneberit (77 months ago | reply)
fantastic :) (3-2-1)
ESKarthik (77 months ago | reply)
Lovely shot!! Great capture!
(3-2-1)
s_issever (77 months ago | reply)
very nice... like the foggy view... tag1
Stitch (77 months ago | reply)
great timing, love the fog. would like to see a shot without a surfer or just a person without the surfboard.
(3-2-1)
acastellano (77 months ago | reply)
uploaded surferless version
Marko_K (77 months ago | reply)
Nice shot.
tag2
spitfirelas (77 months ago | reply)
brilliant capture and mood here.
tag3
Graniers (77 months ago | reply)
this is excellent, plenty of interest, a story to invent, the light is misty and glowing
Thank you for Playing Lets Play Tag. Three tags-- please remove this pic from the pool, and post another one. You can load this one to the Graduates Group so others can enjoy it.
Enjoy, have fun, keep on commenting and tagging
Nex Ninek (77 months ago | reply)
WOW. I am speechless, so I'll just repeat it: WOW.
AlfGX [deleted] (76 months ago | reply)
Great mood!
sunshineband (76 months ago | reply)
Wow! Really impressive!
Nex Ninek (76 months ago | reply)
Please post this photo with Search the Best.
EssjayNZ (76 months ago | reply)
Thank you for rating and posting in the 100 Points pool.
Sergio Lubezky (76 months ago | reply)
Rating #1:
Composition, interestingness, focus, DOF, framing... all work together in this maginificent capture. KUDOS! This is an excelent photograph!
Rated 10 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
JJParé (76 months ago | reply)
Rating #2:
Rated 9 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
normally i'd be a little irritated by the lack of something nearing black to give a bit of contrast to such a hazy shot, but you make it work quite nicely.
well captured.
MiRea (76 months ago | reply)
If there is something wrong with this capture, I cannot see it.
Kudos on a great capture.
Rating #3:
Rated 10 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
the näyrde von göbbels [deleted] (76 months ago | reply)
Fab shot i must say. I'm glad you havent contrasted this one, it would have killed the mist. Great timing with the surfer, i'm hoping though that he would have been a "spookier" subject.
Rating #4:
Rated 9 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Steve Deger (76 months ago | reply)
Great composition and capture! Perfect!
Rating #6:
Rated 10 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
*saxon* (76 months ago | reply)
I love this! Brilliant shot!
Rating #7:
Rated 10 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Global Reactions (76 months ago | reply)
Dude, I like it! it feels like the pier to now where.
Rating #8:
Rated 8 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Mat. (76 months ago | reply)
nice shot, slightly blurred on zoom but great composition
Rating #9:
Rated 7 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
julioc. (76 months ago | reply)
Wow! Beautiful composition. I love the simmetry, the foggy ambient. Well done.
Rating #10:
Rated 9 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Sergio Lubezky (76 months ago | reply)
Final rating in the 100 Points group is a massive 90 Points.
Well done!
Please request entry and publish this photograph in the 90-99 Points group and thank you very much for participating in the 100 Points group!!!
iderah (75 months ago | reply)
This makes me want to go home. This is a wonderfully calm and happy shot. Excellent, I love the muted colors.
Dreamer7112 (75 months ago | reply)
wonderful!
vvt (75 months ago | reply)
fantastic shot.
SuperDave!! (75 months ago | reply)
Congrats, this photo is this week's winner of the 200 Views Photo Contest
Check out the "Winner's Blog"
--
acastellano (75 months ago | reply)
Wow...thanks SuperDave (and the rest of the judges)! This is quite an honor.
bigibigi (75 months ago | reply)
Fantastic shot! Congrats!!
My fav!
acastellano (75 months ago | reply)
Thanks kaleidoscopeGal!
Grazie bigibigi!
jovivebo (75 months ago | reply)
Superb shot ! Also congrats !
zphoto (75 months ago | reply)
great photo. makes me want to grab my board although i won't be riding near the pier!
fiumeazzurro (75 months ago | reply)
Bellissima...
superelzop (75 months ago | reply)
Great!deep!
acastellano (75 months ago | reply)
This photo is challenging I felt this from the pool of Highly Competitive - Flickr's 100 Best - www.flickr.com/groups/best100only. Vote me in!
addie_reiss (75 months ago | reply)
this is a tough one.
i think the defender is far more striking in terms of color exposure and overall technique.
yet you managed to get a true magical moment. your photo unfolds a story and a place and hero.
i vote for you.
oneof100#1
Vida Morkunas (seawallrunner) (75 months ago | reply)
impressive! Is Huntington Beach near La Jolla (near Scrips)?
There's a similar 'portal' there too, under the pier.
Mr. Mark (75 months ago | reply)
for me, I think the defender's shot is just a little bit awkward in terms of composition, though it's obviously still a great photo. I like this one because of the subtle, subdued light and tones. your timing was good here to. I think the pool could use a few more shots like this, where the image isn;t dominated by super-saturated colours and overprocessing. (not that the defender's is, but this is the opposite of that trend)
oneof100#2
acastellano (75 months ago | reply)
I would have said HB is not that close to La Jolla, but from your perspective I guess it is (it's about a one and half hour drive). Thanks for your comments!
Mr. Mark (75 months ago | reply)
(*hm, I'm starting to like the other photo more & more; comp's not so bad really. Still slightly prefer this one for the reasons mentioned above)
lookin glass (75 months ago | reply)
oneof100#3
Yes, the more I look at this one, the more detail I begin to see and the more I like it. Subtle, but yet holds the interest - not bland or boring.
Very nice work.
todayistoday (75 months ago | reply)
I would hope that the near poles in this picture would have higher contrast and clearer, the whole blurry and misty thing here maybe go a bit too far. Defenders' pic has a nice shadow and lighting.
noneof100#1
birdfarm (75 months ago | reply)
I like that this can be seen in two ways... mysterious, as the title implies, or ordinary but pleasantly nostalgic, once you figure out what it is. The defender's pic does have a clarity and a lovely light, but ultimately there's too much going on in it--all the small figures, the big machines--none of it really holds my attention the way the one figure does here.
oneof100#4
BamaWester (75 months ago | reply)
This is a very tough one to decide. I really like this shot a lot. The fog, the surfer passing through the scene, etc. are all great.
The defender's shot is compositionally fantastic and I love the golden color.
So when it comes down to it, I can only decide by which one grabbed me the most. Soooo....
noneof100#2
Leo Chimaera (75 months ago | reply)
An easy choice... Defender's rich warmth colour, the composition and the emotion of working men won him my vote. The challenger's photo is a little too soft for me...
none of 100#3