Posted by Derek Sedillo on November 9, 2009 at 5:33 PM
Here is a shot of Sunday morning at Garapata. After visiting Saturday with fairly bland AM skies I was happy I forced myself to wake up and go back on Sunday. The color in the sky was much nicer. Also the surf was huge!
Sunday night sunset was nice as well as this morning's sunrise along the coast. Although I didn't have time to go shooting. Also the forecast looks pretty good with a mix of clouds & sun over the next several days.
Derek, as with a lot of compositions the horizontal and vertical looks provide in my mind a very different feel. The XL sized horizontal comes a crossed as a very peaceful view, whereas the L sized vertical provides much more turbulent wave action. I like both with the two very different feelings they provide.
Posted by Derek Sedillo on November 9, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Thanks Paul,
This was one of those days that when the sky lit up I was dumbfounded as far as how to capture it all. With the big waves sweeping right under my feet to the 180 degree sunrise colors above my head it was like Wow... where do I even begin?
I processed this after posting the one one above and think I actually like it more. But as you said these just provide a different feel of the same scene I experienced all around me that morning in solitude. What a great way to greet the day!
I retrospect I really think I need to start experimenting with stitching. This could have been a very big pano.
I like this, Derek. The color of the sky is very nice. I wonder if just a tad more lightness in the water would give this more impact.
I have always had trouble photographing coastal scenes, so I appreciate well done shots such as this one.
-P.
Posted by Lon Overacker on November 10, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Derek,
A glorious sunrise indeed; beautiful colors and no doubt a wonderful experience.
I don't know about you or anyone else, but I think seascape sunset/sunrises are very difficult to capture. If you have a beautiful sky, you want to emphasize it. But then what do you do about the sea? Which also has it's own beautiful elements that you want to capture? I think it's very difficult to showcase equally. I think you've done a nice job balancing the two, but in the end I can't decided if I want to see more of the sky or more of the sea - they're both inviting me to look.
That's just me though. A nice series Derek.
Lon
Posted by Harley Goldman on November 10, 2009 at 2:55 PM
Nice overall scene. I am thinking along the same lines as Preston. Perhaps bringing out more light tones in the water and trying for a bit of a glow will provide a really nice lead-in to the sky?
Posted by Derek Sedillo on November 11, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Thanks for the input guys!
And yes shooting seascapes is indeed a challenge. But I have always had a love for the sea so the motivation to be there is definately with me. It is one of the reasons I moved from Colorado to Monterey. And I do get inspiration from a number of the folks on this forum as well as NPN at large. The enthusiasm and quality of work raises the bar for me.
There are many more changing variables than in most landscapes for obvious reasons. So I generally end up taking more shots. I think that part would be harder/more expensive with film. But that said I have seen some amazing seascapes from LF shooters.
With regards to this image I may try and lighten the foreground up a just bit as mentioned. However it was dawn with a similar level of darkness at the time. So I like to preserve that mood. That said I think the one I posted on ESS has a bit brighter foreground with more red in it as well from the sunrise which was more intense there: http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/Locations/Northern-California-2009/7049912_hqPLs#708716799_Pg24z-XL-LB
The one above is more subdued and I'm not sure I have a preference yet. I guess they just present a bit different mood.
Derek
Posted by Eric Good on November 13, 2009 at 7:15 PM
Nice... I particularly enjoy the diagonal rhythm running through this image. Beautiful colors captured here. Did you happen to take any down closer to that reflecting pool?... that might have made for a nice fg element too. Well done!
Posted by Derek Sedillo on November 13, 2009 at 8:53 PM
Thanks Eric,
Yeah, that reflective pool looked inviting when I first arrived. But then I watched it for a few minutes and it quicky became a caldron of whitewater when the big waves came in and crashed over it. And that was part of the mystique of Garrapta last weekend. While beautiful it was very dangerous with 10-20 foot waves rushing in and exploding over the rocks in front of me. It was almost too big to show the water movement as much of the time everything was simply covered in thick whitewater.
Discussion
9 repliesLarger version shows more of the action: http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/Locations/Northern-California-2009/7049912_hqPLs#707811338_zD2kU-A-LB
Here is a vertical as well: http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/Locations/Northern-California-2009/7049912_hqPLs#708052118_FGDXu-XL-LB
Sunday night sunset was nice as well as this morning's sunrise along the coast. Although I didn't have time to go shooting. Also the forecast looks pretty good with a mix of clouds & sun over the next several days.
Derek
This was one of those days that when the sky lit up I was dumbfounded as far as how to capture it all. With the big waves sweeping right under my feet to the 180 degree sunrise colors above my head it was like Wow... where do I even begin?
For example if you take a look at this shot which pans to the right you will see more of the incredible scene: http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/Locations/Northern-California-2009/7049912_hqPLs#708716799_Pg24z-XL-LB
I processed this after posting the one one above and think I actually like it more. But as you said these just provide a different feel of the same scene I experienced all around me that morning in solitude. What a great way to greet the day!
I retrospect I really think I need to start experimenting with stitching. This could have been a very big pano.
Derek
Very nice color in the sky here. This composition seems taylor made of a stitched pano. Best Regards.
I have always had trouble photographing coastal scenes, so I appreciate well done shots such as this one.
-P.
A glorious sunrise indeed; beautiful colors and no doubt a wonderful experience.
I don't know about you or anyone else, but I think seascape sunset/sunrises are very difficult to capture. If you have a beautiful sky, you want to emphasize it. But then what do you do about the sea? Which also has it's own beautiful elements that you want to capture? I think it's very difficult to showcase equally. I think you've done a nice job balancing the two, but in the end I can't decided if I want to see more of the sky or more of the sea - they're both inviting me to look.
That's just me though. A nice series Derek.
Lon
And yes shooting seascapes is indeed a challenge. But I have always had a love for the sea so the motivation to be there is definately with me. It is one of the reasons I moved from Colorado to Monterey.
There are many more changing variables than in most landscapes for obvious reasons. So I generally end up taking more shots. I think that part would be harder/more expensive with film. But that said I have seen some amazing seascapes from LF shooters.
With regards to this image I may try and lighten the foreground up a just bit as mentioned. However it was dawn with a similar level of darkness at the time. So I like to preserve that mood. That said I think the one I posted on ESS has a bit brighter foreground with more red in it as well from the sunrise which was more intense there:
http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/Locations/Northern-California-2009/7049912_hqPLs#708716799_Pg24z-XL-LB
The one above is more subdued and I'm not sure I have a preference yet. I guess they just present a bit different mood.
Derek
Yeah, that reflective pool looked inviting when I first arrived. But then I watched it for a few minutes and it quicky became a caldron of whitewater when the big waves came in and crashed over it. And that was part of the mystique of Garrapta last weekend. While beautiful it was very dangerous with 10-20 foot waves rushing in and exploding over the rocks in front of me. It was almost too big to show the water movement as much of the time everything was simply covered in thick whitewater.
Here is an example form the previous day. These waves are much bigger than they look: http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/Locations/Northern-California-2009/7049912_hqPLs#706312413_mBiUb-A-LB
http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/Locations/Northern-California-2009/7049912_hqPLs#705873274_wxnZZ-A-LB
BTW, you are one of the one's that continues to inspire me with your seascapes. So keep up the great work!
Derek