Blue Hour, Capitola Pier Sunrise - Capitola, California

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Serendipity

It's funny sometimes how images come to fruition. Like this morning, I had no desire to get up early for a third day in a row at sunrise, yet I did. Mind you, it wasn't by choice.

You see, my girlfriend had to unexpectedly leave town, and therefore I am living the single life for a few days. Normally, one of our cats, Hana, demands to be let out between 5-6am. And normally, I sleep right through her tirades because my girlfriend lets her out. Well, the first two days of bachelorhood, I had gotten up earlier than the cat. Today, however, with grand visions of sleeping in until 10 or 11am, Hana woke up first. And she was persuasive. Now, there is that little thing called a biological clock, and mine had started to think 5am was a good time to wake up.

So here I was, up again before sunrise, and to my surprise, the rain that had started the night before (and was predicted to really kick in at 6am), seemed to be gone, replaced by really nice storm clouds.

Half asleep, I cleaned my filters, packed my gear, and decided to go easy on myself and head down to a new spot for me photographically, the Capitola Pier. It's close to home, and I didn't think I'd get wet (although I wound up soaked from the waist down).

Originally, I thought I would wind up with a black and white image because I predicted a lack of sunrise color, and in the end, there wasn't any. But the colors of the sky over the almost minute long exposure, along with the golden glow of the lamps on the wharf, were too much to resist.

This image almost didn't happen. But thanks to one persuasive cat, it did.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 13mm
55.4sec @ f8, ISO 200
B+W Polarizer
Lee .6 Hard and .6 Soft Stop GND Filters

Comments and faves

  1. ★

    matt cattell is engaged :) :) :), RondaKimbrow, tsechel, Tom DiMatteo, and 1562 other people added this photo to their favorites.

  2. ~ Aaron Reed ~ (52 months ago | reply)

    Ha! I am first!

    Great story to go with the creamy long exposure. Nicely done Jim.

  3. RondaKimbrow (52 months ago | reply)

    Thank God for cats!!! Great image!

  4. Tom DiMatteo (52 months ago | reply)

    Awesome shot, really looks cool!

  5. tsechel (52 months ago | reply)

    Absolutely stunning long exposure. Love the contrast of the bold black versus the creamy water. Great shot.

  6. (Greg Stewart) (52 months ago | reply)

    Stunning shot! Well worth the effort!!!

  7. Patti Sullivan Schmidt (52 months ago | reply)

    This is so pretty. The glow of the lamps on the water is really nice.

  8. catklein (52 months ago | reply)

    friggin' awesome.

  9. Steph & the ocean (52 months ago | reply)

    i love the atmosphere, great work my friend

  10. Paulo "Santa Cruz" Dias (52 months ago | reply)

    Thank you Hana... ups.. sorry, thank you Jim, for share.

  11. Alex Filatov Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    Wonderful stillness of the water against the moving clouds. Remarkable once again, Jim!

  12. © Ali Shokri / www.alishokri.com (52 months ago | reply)

    amazing shots, Exposure and composition are excellent , Thanks for share my friend

  13. Della Huff Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    Gorgeous -- I'm glad you kept this in color!

  14. Lukas Wenger Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    I can't believe you haven't been to Capitola for pictures yet. I really love the shot. I wish it was mine!

  15. DanielEwert (52 months ago | reply)

    Beautiful. This is very nice shot. I'm glad you were able to roll out of bed for it!
    Daniel

  16. Jim Patterson Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    You know, it's just one of those things. It's so close to my house, I always want to "go somewhere" instead. I always wanted to do sunrise there, and I finally did.

  17. G Dan Mitchell (52 months ago | reply)

    Wonderful photograph... and nice story about the importance of being there. I can't tell you the number of photographs I've made that are as much the result of taking the effort to be in a place as anything. Well, except for extraordinarily good luck. ;-)

    Dan

  18. acidsulfurik (52 months ago | reply)

    woww..love the blue tones and the long exposure effects is just spot on bro! awesome!!

  19. Rob Kroenert (52 months ago | reply)

    Oh man, that is just gorgeous... You caught it at just the right time - the colors are perfect. Kudos to both you and Hana!

  20. Rudy M Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    Amazing image! Long exposure looks so good on the clouds and sea! Waking up early sure pays off.

  21. SQSUN2008 (52 months ago | reply)

    Wow. SO BEAUTIFUL.

  22. Paul Santos Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    I don't often say WOW. But justified in this case. A superb atmospheric shot with great exposure and composition. A real winner.

  23. © Lucie Debelkova / www.luciedebelkova.com (52 months ago | reply)

    wow, what an amazing shot and great story, definitely worth getting up early for !!

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  24. adam.declercq (52 months ago | reply)

    a remarkably wonderful picture.

  25. little m:) (52 months ago | reply)

    the Netherworld...very mystical.

  26. Jill's Junk (52 months ago | reply)

    Beautiful!!

  27. Aubrey Stoll (52 months ago | reply)

    Stunning work. Love the texture of the water in particular. Great atmosphere and nice color cast. Great stream by the way.

  28. mrperry (52 months ago | reply)

    Love this!

  29. JeffreyPaul(1969-2011) (52 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called The Truth Gallery (Admin Invite ONLY: Post 1, Award 2), and we'd love to have this added to the group!

    Some of the best come by chance...thank Hana for this one....the stones or posts in the water are superb.
    A perfect frame.
    rgds.

  30. ©haddock (52 months ago | reply)

    Simply awe inspiring.

  31. dan barron photography - landscape work (52 months ago | reply)

    What a shot - absolute classic and instant fave.

  32. Fran McMullen Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    Oh - love the ghostly effect -

  33. Dave the Haligonian (52 months ago | reply)

    Jimbo! This is a crazy L/E image my friend! Wow!!
    Love your commentary too! I would not have taken you as a cat person! LOL

  34. DP|Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    wow, what a brilliant long exposure shot!! very striking composition and colors. love the breakwaters and the dramatic skies.

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  35. Y~L .... [deleted] (52 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Sand/Sea/Sky/Sun : The Four Fantastic (Invited Pics Only), and we'd love to have this added to the group!

    nice intuition on this morning, well done this long exposure !!!

  36. alter your reality (52 months ago | reply)

    this is pretty sweet exposure

  37. Jim Patterson Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    I grew up with a ton of cats, so I'm down with them. I'd love to have a dog, grew up with them, too. Landlord says no. :( I always read Chaybert's stories with his dog and get green with envy.

  38. photocillin (52 months ago | reply)

    Best shot I have seen all week. Thanks for getting up early and taking this ;-)))

  39. teacherholly (52 months ago | reply)

    Wow! This is surreal. I will have to go through your stream in a bit as I am leaving my house right now. You do amazing work...especially with long exposures. I am going to add you as a friend so that I can see more of these lovely images in the near future!

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  40. alvar astúlez (52 months ago | reply)

    Magnífica, bella, genial...etc

    Truthfully..
    An Outstanding Image!!!

    The Truth Gallery
    Admin Invited Images Only

  41. Baqer Jawad Photography (52 months ago | reply)

    Great shot . i like the blue tone here .. well done and keep it up

  42. jakeof (52 months ago | reply)

    Great shot lots of movement here,very nice.

    Seen in : Sand/Sea/Sky/Sun : The Four Fantastic

  43. Garry - www.visionandimagination.com (52 months ago | reply)

    You finally explored what is around you....terrific shot Jim, love the poles in the foreground. Amazing work

  44. ~Terrie K ~ (52 months ago | reply)

    Gorgeous, thank Hana for me :-)

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  45. Shamrockah (52 months ago | reply)

    This is out of this world amazing!
    Fantastic work Jim!

  46. woodchuckiam (52 months ago | reply)

    Magnificent! You never cease to amaze!

  47. Sherrye's Art (52 months ago | reply)

    Ohhhhhhhhh...truly magnificent! Wonderful and amazing - I love it!

  48. Diego Tabango (52 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Private Gallery ( Invite Only ), and we'd love to have this added to the group!

    you're on a tear my friend.

    your determination to get the shot no matter what is impressive.

  49. bisan (52 months ago | reply)

    buff!! menudo fotón!!! el tono azulado de toda la imagen es espectacular! me encanta! Además tiene una profundidad espectacular!! El encuadre es buenísimo! y por último, las luces no están quemadas, así que...Me la añado a Favoritos!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!! Good work!!!!

  50. desert-pine (52 months ago | reply)

    So beautiful!

  51. orvaratli (52 months ago | reply)

    Awesome image. Great composition and colors. You control the light very well by applying GND with great technique.

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