• It was as if the light was drilling a hole in the rock!
  • I only included a bit of sand just to 'ground' the image.'
  • Without the mist, the light was not reflecting onto the cave walls and it would actually be difficult to even tell what this is! It looked like a big dark hole.
  • This is another cave with a bit of light coming through, but not as much.
  • There is a third cave over to the right of here, but the light was directly from the sun and was harsh and glaring. So I excluded the entire thing. Dramatic to see though.
  • This sand is underwater at high tide, just so you know.
  • This is light reflecting off of the misty beam of light. When the beam disappeared, this rock went dark.
  • A little clump of succulent Dudleyas.
  • A bit of Tafoni eroded sandstone.
  • I know I know... two shots in a row with no horizon. What is wrong with me?? I just couldn't help myself!
  • Light from the blue sky behind me.
  • Wow!! - ǝuoƃ

Labyrinthine Light - Pfeiffer State Beach, California

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This is yet another light portal/labyrinth thing just to the left of my previous uploads. I have never seen a good shot of this, (probably because everyone goes after the main portal and ignores this) so here it is! No HDR.

Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!

See the 1400 pixel version!!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/547728129...

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Details:
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Canon 5D mark II
Canon 24-105L lens @105mm (I had to stand back for a better perspective)
0.6-sec. exposure @F16 (I needed max DOF so I pushed the aperture a bit)
ISO 100
2 inverted ND grad 0.9s (the dark parts just barely over the bright sand)
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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A sea cave near the main portal on Pfeiffer State Beach in Big Sur, California is also a great source of light during the winter at sunset. The sandstone and Tafoni rock formations have been sculpted into twisted formations while the waves have done their work to bore holes into the soft rock. It is as though the light was boring the hole on this evening as the sea mist drifted into the cave.

A few minutes later, the mist reversed direction in a warm offshore breeeze and drifted back into the cave and out to sea. Don't think that you have lots of time to capture a scene with good light and mist even in a seemingly static situation like this. It can disappear in a moment. Without the mist, this is not nearly as interesting!

I took a shot close up with the 17-40 but it was too close and the perspective seemed to be distorted. So I went for the 24-105 and backed up as much as I could @105. The lens was higher in elevation compared to before so I could see more of the light beam over the foreground rocks and the perspective seemed more balanced. However, at 105mm, the DOF is narrow and I had to go to F16 to get everything in focus. Be careful about focus. The last thing you want is to capture a good scene and get back home and realize that parts of it are out of focus! So review your shots right after you take them just to be sure.

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.

www.californiacoastline.org/

Dene' Miles, gianpaolo4, Nancy Rose, Kerstin Langenberger, and 366 other people added this photo to their favorites.

View 20 more comments

  1. zPRIME 24 months ago | reply

    Wow. The colors are just insane! I have to say .. I'm impressed to like the nth degree! Thanks for sharing!

  2. visiblejoy 20 months ago | reply

    Wonderful details of the rocks.

  3. theHeYokah 11 months ago | reply

    you where just recommended tot me,. beautiful pics,. I like your style very much,. .thanks for showing us your pictures <3 !!!!

  4. Jocelyn 777 9 days ago | reply

    Wow! Beautiful gold and jewel colours. What an amazing shot!

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