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The Beach at the End
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The Beach at the End

by Kah Kit Yoong

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 16, 2010481 views29 comments
"The Beach at the End of the World"
Golden Bay, New Zealand

Seeing that Abdullaziz has posted an image from the sea caves
here, I thought I would show what's at the end of it. In fact I accessed this beach before the tide went out using that cave.

This was a location that I had dreamed to visiting for years and in the end I had only one chance to shoot it at sunrise with the tide at lowest point. Thankfully, the sunrise wasn't half bad. I ran around hunting for some suitable foreground water motion but eventually settled on the leading lines in the sand patterns.

Canon 5DMkII, 16-35mm 2.8L, single exposure, reverse GND filter.

PS. I've gone for a darker sky relative to the foreground for aesthetic reasons rather than strict accuracy.

Comments

29 comments
Comment posted by Mario Pappalardo on July 16, 2010 at 2:33 AM
Wonderful! Nothing to add.
Registered on October 14, 2009, 18 Posts, 61 Comments
Comment posted by Mathieu Hoareau on July 16, 2010 at 2:33 AM
Hi Kah Kit,

Wow, that's a beautiful composition, the foreground is just well exposed with the sky reflexion, it's great. I like so much your sky/clouds with these colors, they give a pleasant mood : ) The texture and the lines of the sands are amazing... Cheers :wavey:
Registered on July 9, 2010, 4 Posts, 120 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on July 16, 2010 at 2:52 AM
Just fabulous KK! Enjoying your NZ series. Keep them coming.
Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments
Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on July 16, 2010 at 3:14 AM
What a chance we post pictures from the same locations :)
Wow, you are lucky Kah, you had lovely clouds
I camped there four nights and didn't find such a beautiful clouds
This place is gorgeous, I'm planning to visit it again :)

BTW, my first day there, I lost my path to the camp and got lost in the forest it was a terrible day :eek:

Keep this great work Kah .. all the best :wavey:
Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments
Comment posted by David Fernandez on July 16, 2010 at 5:16 AM
Beautiful shot, wonderful colors, great sky!!
Registered on May 4, 2008, 69 Posts, 668 Comments
Comment posted by Wick Smith on July 16, 2010 at 8:15 AM
Great capture - I love the lead in lines in the foreground and the dramatic sky. Your diligence paid off!
Registered on June 12, 2009, 91 Posts, 379 Comments
Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on July 16, 2010 at 10:41 AM
The leading lines in the sand and the reflections from the colorful sunrise are superb, imo.
Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments
Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on July 16, 2010 at 11:06 AM
Beautifully composed. The tones are well balanced and though dark are not unrealistic appearing.
Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments
Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on July 16, 2010 at 12:31 PM
Wonderfull, love the composition and dark sky, it balances nicely with the darker fg. :wavey:
Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments
Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on July 16, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Abdullaziz I can understand how you got lost. That trail from the beach is very difficult to find amongst the dunes in the dark. I got lost one night. Luckily there were two of us to search for the trail.
Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments
Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on July 16, 2010 at 1:03 PM
A very contrasty and colorful image Kah Kit Yoong. However, there seems to be quite a bit of distortion on the horizon there. Not one of my favorites of yours, but it is a cool scene, and it appears as if you've had no shortage of awesome sunrises and sunsets in NZ.
Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments
Comment posted by Martin Bartsch on July 16, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Outstanding shot. Love the reflections and foreground textures.
:toast:
Registered on December 1, 2003, 80 Posts, 354 Comments
Comment posted by Bruno Silva on July 16, 2010 at 2:16 PM
great mood and colors, Kah! love the lines here and your framing is spot on, as usual. really wild coast scene, like it a lot. I kind of agree with nicolaus about the distortion, very small issue here though to correct. great capture!!!!
Registered on May 6, 2009, 132 Posts, 1406 Comments
Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on July 16, 2010 at 2:45 PM
Gorgeous coastal shot, Kah. The light is spectacular, and there's plenty of interest throughout. I like the cool blues on the sand.
Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments
Comment posted by Stan Rose on July 16, 2010 at 4:38 PM
Sweet! :toast:
Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments
Comment posted by Marc Ward on July 16, 2010 at 5:45 PM
Kah Kit,

Stunning lines, colors, and contrast.
Registered on February 26, 2009, 304 Posts, 1365 Comments
Comment posted by Rohn B. McKee on July 16, 2010 at 6:01 PM
Beautiful Image
Registered on November 18, 2008, 109 Posts, 415 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on July 16, 2010 at 6:57 PM
Beautiful seascape Kah Kit. I'm really liking the blue sky reflecting in the small pool and the lines leading in to the pool. I think the processing is great and the relative darker top doesn't bother me in the least. In fact I'd say it looks or could be perceived as being quite natural because of the dark gloomy clouds over the horizon; and it could much clearer overhead. At least that's my thinking.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on July 16, 2010 at 7:35 PM
Wonderful color, excellent comp, and a very nice graphic feel to the dark rocks. Super shot.
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Jason Risinger on July 16, 2010 at 10:16 PM
Wow! You've very successfully conveyed your vision for the scene in this stunning image.

For some strange reason that I can't put my finger on, I can't shake the feeling that there is a leftward tilt to this though. I just want to grab it and tilt it about a half-degree clockwise. Talk about nitpicks though...

Your work never fails to disappoint, that's for sure!
Registered on July 13, 2010, 13 Posts, 91 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on July 16, 2010 at 10:17 PM
Love the scene, especially the contrasting colors between earth and sky, thought I'm at a loss to figure you how such a warm-colored sky is reflecting such cool colors into the water and sand. I guess it may be bluer overhead. Where it not for the copyright, the amount of foreground would feel a bit excessive here. I'm think a 4:3 crop would be nice too.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Daniel Cartamil on July 16, 2010 at 11:39 PM
I love your photography, but in this case it seems to me that the foreground is really too bright for the sky, even though I know that was your intention...
Registered on November 15, 2007, 50 Posts, 601 Comments
Comment posted by Gary McGhee on July 17, 2010 at 9:38 AM
Stunning as per usual Kah, plenty to look at in this.

Gary.
Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments
Comment posted by Marc Adamus on July 17, 2010 at 4:08 PM
The composition is first rate. Only two things I'd do differently, and you may certainly disagree. One, I don't like the super-bright foreground look in coastal shots. I know some do. Two, is I don't like the magenta cast added by the strong grad, causing a substantial color shift in the foreground.
Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Metternich on July 17, 2010 at 8:34 PM
Sweet Kah Kit!!! :toast:
Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments
Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on July 17, 2010 at 9:32 PM
Marc I don't think that's a colour shift caused by a grad. As Lon alluded to, there's bluer sky not visible as it above the frame but you can see it reflected in the pool.
Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments
Comment posted by Marc Adamus on July 18, 2010 at 1:12 PM
Some magenta is caused by the grad here IMO. I used them for many years on many thousands of photos. Any Singh-Ray at 3-stops hard or over in density would impart more and more magenta onto the scene, which is not always a bad thing or even noticeable a lot of the time with sunsets. When looking at the cloud reflections it's clear to me there's a magenta shift above not visible below.
Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments
Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on July 18, 2010 at 1:28 PM
Marc, I'm aware of the magenta shift, as you say noticeable on 3 stops, quite a bit more obvious at 4 stops. Very very strong on those solid ND filters which I don't use at all for that reason - just too unnatural for my tastes. Not a bad cast to have when you have warm colours in the sky as you say. However the reason I did insist that this wasn't (at least purely) due to the grad cast, is that many of the shots I took several minutes earlier in the day had the same magenta cast extending down to the bottom of the frame. At that earlier time the clouds reflected in the tide pool were pink. In this later shot the sky above me was much more blue however I agree that it looks a lot like a clear delineation between magenta and not. While there may be some slight cast imparted by the grad, I suspect the actual conditions have emphasized this quite a bit - which you'll see when I get around to posting the landscape version of this.
Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments
Comment posted by John Williams on August 23, 2010 at 11:16 PM
I missed this one until the horizontal Kah, but it's perfect. I love the depth that this has. The lines leading in, the contrast of the reflected sky with the color of the actual sky, and the arch all come together to a beautiful whole.
Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments