• Finally a seagull landed here so I made most of my pictures while it was posing! Who said I don't do animal photos?
  • There is also a seagull here. Every little element helps add interest.
  • I experimented, but I especially liked it when the water would stream off of the bottom of the rock.
  • And I wanted to get the next wave moving in while the last one curls around the bottom of the rock.
  • Every so often, some light would reflect off the water here. So I timed it for that as well.
  • I kept the view wide so as to include the reflected light right here.
  • I included this slab in the foreground and you can see every little grain in a big print. Also it was extra bright and added some contrast and depth in front of the darker rock below.
  • I like this part, but I lucked out and did not see it until I was reviewing the shot in the back of the camera. It does add a bit of interest down here.
  • Nothing wrong with a bit of bright glare from the sun so as to put the rest of the reflected light in context.
  • I made sure to get a bit of blue sky up here.
  • I perched the camera (and me) on a spot just like this!
  • The other version does not have as much rock, so I think that this is an improvement.
  • The sun was bright enough to bounce some light off the rock right here. This was 20 minutes before sunset.
  • In order to get this color, you need to let the water calm down. Then catch the first wave in the set. Too much white foam just makes it too bright.
  • These reflections are also great, they add beauty and intensity to this part of the shot. Just amazing... - Eliasgc
  • Back splashing against the rock! Quite awesome!! - HisPhotographs.com

Pinnacle Rock #3 - Point Lobos, California

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I returned for to Point Lobos for a wider perspective of this impressive rock! It was clear all day then I got lucky when clouds came by. They were gone after sunset. 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/452597696...

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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @21
1/4-second exposure @F11
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 50
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

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The Story
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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.

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Resources:
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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 an easy <1 mile hike from a small parking lot.

See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
.

JesS_[FG], yopse - Arnaud Montagard, and 1198 other people added this photo to their favorites.

View 20 more comments

  1. Hacker Republic 29 months ago | reply

    how did you do? this photo rules.

  2. Jil Monroe 28 months ago | reply

    I love it very much ;)

  3. iBishop Photography 28 months ago | reply

    exactly on time for the best capture.

  4. McF_photo [deleted] 28 months ago | reply

    The colours in this are amazing, funny how the green of sea ice is so similar, and beautiful.

  5. Emotioned.com 28 months ago | reply

    We are working on a monthly travel and adventure sport competition, all winning entries will be published in an online magazine. Judge panel will selected from Flickr.

    There are 3 parts of the competition, 2 parts are currently under development:

    A Flick group called : www.flickr.com/groups/emotioned/

  6. D_ego 28 months ago | reply

    amazing!

  7. Max Korolev 27 months ago | reply

    Method by Margulis? LAb correction?

  8. G@nymed 27 months ago | reply

    really cool, amazing shot!!!!

  9. *Saariy* 26 months ago | reply

    NICE IMAGE & BEAUTIFUL COMPOSITION,WELL DONE


    Sunset time at marina

    *Saariy's Quality Pictures Gallery*
    Please comment & fave at least 2 photos after yours.
    Tag your photo : Saariy'sQualityPictures

  10. George Hamilton Paes Barreto 26 months ago | reply

    Amazing colours!

  11. .fiXion. 26 months ago | reply

    wow¡¡¡ incredible¡¡¡

  12. psyed_burnz (been away but on the return!!) 25 months ago | reply

    Jealous!!!

  13. Nick Sanford 24 months ago | reply

    Great colors on the water and in the details of the rocks. This is one of your best.

  14. Photo--Graphy [deleted] 23 months ago | reply

    Great composition ;-)


  15. Coco Carrigan 22 months ago | reply

    Nice shot and tones

  16. Luís Henrique Boucault 19 months ago | reply

    Very nice shot! Well done!

  17. marcellucray 18 months ago | reply

    ....nice lightning shot....splendid

  18. ramorro70 13 months ago | reply

    Your photos are amazing Just wondering do you have any tutorial videos? And if you do what is the link I would love o learn from the best

  19. Standard Deluxe 10 months ago | reply

    Spectacular.

  20. Luigi Mirto/ArchiMlFotoWord 9 months ago | reply

    ----------------------------------------------------------

    I saw this in the 1.000+ Faves group.

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