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Big Sur North

Ocean waves, mist and light streamed through the portal in the Tafoni sandstone on a clear and warm January evening. Every once in a while, it would almost appear as though the light were striking the water, sending spray away from the impact point. I chose to step back to include some reflected light off the sand at low tide to add an added element of interest. — Light Force - Pfeiffer State Beach, California

The last light of the day shines up under high clouds on a warm December evening. The pure granite sand on the beach at Carmel by the Sea is like powdered sugar and is so clean that you do not have to wash your feet after you walk the beach. This could be the finest beach in California! — Carmel Last Light #1 - Carmel By yhe Sea, California

A sea cave near the main portal on this beach 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. — Labyrinthine Light - Pfeiffer State Beach, California

Garrapata beach has many interesting stone formations, like this one right here. So I waited for the clouds and waves to form a pleasing background with this rock as the main subject. — Garrapata Stone - Big Sur, California

Sea mist and light streamed through an opening between two Tafoni sandstone sea cliffs at Pfeiffer State Beach, in Big Sur, California. This light does not last for long! — Sunburst - Pfeiffer State Beach, California

The seventh in a series. A soft light met the pounding surf at the main beach in Garrapata State Park at the north end of Big Sur, near Carmel, California. This is looking north towards Carmel and Monterey. This state park could definitely be one of the most scenic national Parks in the US if it were designated as such! — Garrapata Surf #7 - Garrapata State Park, Big Sur, California

The sunlight tried to find gaps in the clouds, but turned them a glowing orange instead. I waited for the waves to strike the rock before making the exposure. Then I was hit, but that is the price that must be paid! — Garrapata Surf #5 - Big Sur, California

A soft light met the pounding surf at the main beach in Garrapata State Park at the north end of Big Sur, near Carmel, California. I noticed the waves pounding this rock and focused on it for a while to capture the best views I could. #2 is the same composition with sand in front, which made a completely different picture. — Garrapata Surf #3 - Big Sur, California

As the sun rose into a hole in the clouds to the east, I turned and saw a band of rain illiminated by the first light of the day. As the sun grew stronger, a rainbow formed and it lasted about 20 full minutes. The shape of the mountians often creates a hole to the east of Carmel and these rainbows can form fairly often! — Carmel Rainbow - Carmel State Beach, California

I noticed the aquamarine-green color of the waves that appeared for just a fraction of a second in front of the dramatic sky. So I set up and waited until I had captured it just right. — The Curl - Big Sur, California

I returned for to Point Lobos for another image of this impressive rock. This version is just before the sun dropped out of the clouds. Point Lobos, at the north end of Big Sur just south of Carmel, California 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. This is a wde view with more light striking the cliff face and sea. — Pinnacle Rock #3 - Point Lobos, California

A soft light met the pounding surf at the main beach in Garrapata State Park at the north end of Big Sur, near Carmel, California. I noticed the waves pounding this rock and focused on it for a while to capture the best views I could. #3 is the same composition with different movement in the water, which made a completely different picture. — Garrapata Surf #4 - Big Sur, California

The clouds were getting dark and ominous, and that was a good backdrop to the powerful and chaotic surf. — Garrapata Surf #6 - Big Sur, California

I've been planning this shot for about two years. I noticed the layered slabs of rock and how they seemed to point to Bird Rock in the distance, but the conditions were never good for the element of atmosphere. Finally the storm came through and I was able to make the image I had hoped for. I waited for a bit of light to strike the rock and hillside to the left. Then I waited for a wave to sweep into the cove. There were big waves striking the rock in the left-center, but they were big and blocked the rest of the scene. So I waited for calmer conditions. — Bird Rock - Point Lobos, Carmel, California

This little cove is one of many dozens of lesser-known and hard to reach places along the Bug Sur coast. It is heavily guarded by steep cliffs, and lots of poison oak, which produces a bad skin rash to those that are allergic to the oils in the leaves and stems. So I make sure to wash off with lots of soap and water when I get back. Especially since I wear shorts and water shoes and the leaves can directly touch the skin. Still it is well worth the dangers to get here.
For me, long exposures work best when you have visually striking features that you wish to isolate and show off. So when I saw these
colorful boulders and how they contrast with the sand and the different rock behind them, I knew to wait for the light to drop off so I could
do a long exposure. The trick is to wait for a time when the water level is just high enough for the water to be between the rocks but not be
completely covering them for very long. If the water is over the rocks for more than 10 second in a 60-second exposure the rocks get too
soft. Also, I wait for periods in between big sets of waves. Smoother water (compared to 10 ft. waves) look better on long exposures.

So, even on a 1+ minute exposure, timing is still important. Also, wait for the clouds to be streaking across the sky for that surreal effect. — Shores of Time - Big Sur, California

There was a full moon rising in the darkness over Soberanes Point in Garrapata State Park in Big Sur. I could see the moonlight on the water and how it cast shadows across the small islands of rock. This long exposure shows the stars in motion with the sky appearing nearly as though it was daytime. The fog in the distance moved onshore shortly after I was finished, so I was fortunate to capture this scene. Even though it was
nighttime, my eyes became accustomed to the low light and I was able to see the deep blue color of the sea. The shimmering waves took on mystical properties as I sat alone on the rocky outcrop where I had placed my tripod listening to the waves and the coyotes. It was the mystical atmosphere that I hoped to capture on this night. — Moonlight Archipeligo - Big Sur, California

Soberanes Point, in Big Sur near Carmel California is a rugged piece of coastline backed by 4,000 foot mountains. I wanted to isolate this arch and give it a 3D look by doing a long exposure so that the waves do not distract from the rock forms. Also, it was isolated more when I made the top of the arch break the horizon just in one spot. I had to run across a low point in between waves to get out to a rock similar to the arch
in order to get this composition. — Soberanes Arch - Big Sur, California

The first light of the day can often be the best, even in an area known for its sunsets. I had to get wet to get close enough to the surf to capture every fine detail in the ocean, yet still allow the Santa Cruz mountains to be seen 40 miles away in the distance. There were many chaotic motions happening at once, so it took a while before I could capture lots of motion going in the same direction. It was a memorable morning. — Asilomar Surf - Asilomar State Park, Pacific Grove, California

This long-exposure image was created under a 3/4 full moon about 1 hour after sunset. It allowed the moon to light the seascape much as the sun does during the daytime. The waves have been reduced to a haze and the star trails indicate how much each star had moved during the exposure. It was a warm night and after a while, my eyes became used to the darkness and I could see the faint blue in the sky. This is how it felt to be out here, alone at night in an alien place. In order to get a properly exposed photograph at night, a lot of experimentation is required. In previous outings at night with strong moonlight, I tried exposures from 5 minutes to an hour. 30 minutes is just about right with this amount of moonlight and the aperture nearly wide open at F5 with ISO 50. Under a quarter moon, perhaps an hour is necessary. Changing the ISO to 200
reduces the exposure time and also produces less heat sensor noise, which is different than regular ISO noise. I use ISO 200 now as long as I can get an exposure of at least 10 minutes, to show movement in the stars. — Nightscape - Rodeo Beach, Golden Gate National Park, Sausalito,

A winter storm had battered the coast for much of the day, but as the sun began to set, the sky opened up just in time. I got as close to the water as possible in order to capture the chaotic swirling movement. It was a bit nervewracking being this close with slippery rocks providing the only exit from this rocky outcrop. I kept an eye on the big waves and waited for a smaller one to sweep by. I had to run several times before I finally captured this scene. — Sea and Storm - Point Lobos, Carmel, California

These sea stacks in Garrapata State Park are constantly battered by large waves in the winter months. They make great subjects either by themselves or as part of a wider seascape image. — Garrapata Stacks - Big Sur, California

A large storm cleared out right at sunset on this beach south of Monterey. That stirred up some large waves and good cloud formations. I waited for over a year for these conditions with a medium tide and finally it all came together. Low tide cuts off the waves and high tide does not show the interesting cobblestones on the beach. Once the conditions were right, it came down to capturing the waves at their most dramatic moment. One moment (shown here) occurred as the waves struck the sea stacks. Another happened as the waves hit the cliffs behind. I made sure to capture both moments. Here, a 1/5 second exposure was enough to show movement in the fast moving water, while retaining detail in the slower moving water in the foreground. Too bad photographs cannot capture sound as an extra element. The cobblestones made quite an impressive sound as they rolled around in the large surf. — Garrapata Surf #1 - Big Sur, California

This opening in a cliff face at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur allows large waves to come through at high tide before a big storm. The waves often fill the entire portal to the top, and the portal becomes a giant water shotgun! The Tufoni formations in the rock are incredible and should be seen in person. The sun was only like this for about 30 seconds so I had to work fast. Fortunately, the sun was dimmed by high clouds but there was still enough light to reflect onto the rock face from the cliff behind the camera. Backlighting is crucial here; otherwise you have an overexposed portal with no detail on the rock face. Once the light was right, I waited for the water flow to become dramatic. A short exposure time allowed a little movement while retaining detail of the sea spray. — Portal of the Sun - Pfeiffer Beach, California

I have always liked the way the water moves through these rocks, so I waited for the atmosphere to be right before making this photograph. Sometime I will wait for a year or more before conditions are right. Finally, the fog lifted just enough to let in some color at first light at Lover's Point near Monterey and Pacific Grove. The low angle of light also shows the color and texture of the rock at its best. I liked the contrast of the sharp lines of surging water against the softness of the glowing fog. I had to study the ebb and flow for quite some time in order to figure out how best to time the waves. Rarely did all this action happen all at
once. — Lovers Point Morning - Pacific Grove, California

Point Lobos, at the north end of Big Sur just south of Carmel, California 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. The most interesting motion was occurring just as the waves curl around the rock. I painted long lines (but not too long) with a 0.6 second exposure. — Pinnacle Rock #1 - Point Lobos State Park, Carmel by the Sea, Ca

Ocean waves, mist and light streamed through the portal in the Tafoni sandstone on a clear and warm January evening. Every once in a while, it would almost appear as though the light were striking the water, sending spray away from the impact point. I chose to step back to include some reflected light off the sand at low tide to add an added element of interest. — Light Force - Pfeiffer State Beach, California

Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz is a great place to watch the sunset. This is one of the few remaining arches, as the
other ones have been washed into the sea. New ones will replace them as the years go by. The tip of the Monterey Peninsula and
the start of the Big Sur coast 40 miles away are shown in the middle of the arch.
In order to show this arch in the best light, I had to wait until November for the setting sun to be at the best angle to show the
detail on the arch face. I also wanted some cloud cover, which becomes more common as the 7 month summer dry season comes
to a close at this time of year. I used a long exposure to smooth the water, highlighting the arch and distant coastline. And I
timed it for when the sand was at its most reflective state at low tide. — Portal to Big Sur - Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, Cali

Copyright © 2024 Patrick Smith Photography | PhotoFocus by Catch Themes

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