LeaveMeWhereTheLightIs

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 29, 2011187 views8 comments

Shot is taken from Pacific Grove coastline (between Monterey and Carmel) at sunrise.

I was going to title this shot Looking Inward. Then some music came on and I changed my mind. No big deal but I thought you should know.
I have seen epic sunsets. I have seen epic sunrises. This ranks with the best of them.

Shot is facing inward, towards the east as the sun just friggin’ cooked the undersides of these clouds, remnants from a week long storm during last Sunday's sunrise. I headed out as far as I could on some stacks and tried to find a place to shoot that had a pleasing fg and some wave action I could catch. Did I mention that the water down here (as long as its not covered in kelp) is GORGEOUS?!

Anyway, we can’t always catch light like this, so I really appreciate it when I can.

Canon 5DMKII
Canon 16-35mm @ 23mm
Iso 125 (trying to keep shutter speed at 1/3 sec)
f/19 (needed that DOF)
.3 sec
Singh-Ray 2 stop SE GND
Singh-Ray 3 stop RE GND
Raw file handled in Lightroom
Final adjustments (luminosity/dust) in Photoshop CS4

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 30, 2011 at 3:52 AM

You certainly nailed an interesting colour palette here Jared. Good taste in music too

I like the water movement, although my personal taste would have been to give it a touch more "blur" by going to the next shutter speed increment

Great illumination of the clouds - often works out well with post-storm clouds. Was the land on the LHS sloping up slightly?

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Atencio on March 30, 2011 at 10:27 AM

Spectacular color here Jared! The wave action is certainly an interesting enough FG (and yes, the water really is that color for any naysayers), and nice work controlling the exposure on the sky. I also like the unique perspective here shooting back toward the shore. Given the angle of the sun and the very dark treeline, I would like to see the mid and foreground darkened up just a bit and some darker shadows. I would also add just a touch more contrast to the clouds, but that may just be a personal preference. In any case, you def got some nice shots from this morning, nicely done

Registered on June 23, 2009, 21 Posts, 422 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 30, 2011 at 10:53 AM

Beautiful colors. The echo of the sunrise in the water is very nice

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on March 30, 2011 at 12:26 PM

Very nice work. I like the composition and the shutter speed is generally fine by me, though I wouldn't have minded seeing a tad longer exposure. Like Jared I think you can add some additional contrast to the clouds to really bring out some definition and texture.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on March 30, 2011 at 10:31 PM

Very cool scene. Great color. Nothing really holding the eye in the image. Try this again and get very very close to the rock/water line. Bring the viewer IN to the image :)

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on March 31, 2011 at 12:02 AM

This is really nice, Jason. I'm on my laptop tonight, which always seems to emphasize texture The water and rocks have a lot of it, and I like it. Very nicely handled light both in the field and in processing..

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Ropelato on March 31, 2011 at 1:31 AM

Thank you to everyone for the honest comments. I'm reworking a few little things on this image here and there, and then I will move on to another.

Jared and Phil, true about a little more contrast up top, thanks.

Tony, I have to take a second and thank you, not only for your comment, but for your luminosity tutorials and continuing dedication to sharing your knowledge. It has allowed me to come a long way with regards to my processing. I'm still trying to wrap my head around triple play! -jared r.

Registered on March 1, 2011, 25 Posts, 204 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on April 2, 2011 at 2:09 PM

Jared,

I just love that stretch of the coast and have spent many evenings over the years, but never a sunrise. This is unique for the area and of course quite beautiful with the dramatic color - and the complimentary color of the surf and reflected light I think really makes this image work. I also like the inclusion of the rock up front; it helps give a sense of place as well as providing depth to the scene. Nice work.

If you're where I think you are, I'm sure you were watching the tide as folks some times get stranded on the little islands of rocks not realizing the tide has come in cutting off their path back to shore.

Makes me want to get down to Pacific Grove again.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments