Stones-n-Surf

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 10, 2012334 views20 comments

After seeing Chris's wide view of this stony beach from Garapata State Park along the Big Sur coast, I couldn't resist posting this. Between Chris and Deitrich, they honed in and located this little gem of a stony beach. I contracted poison oak and a bloodied leg. (okay, it wasn't that bad.)

Chris worked the wide angle scenics while Dietrich and I fumbled among the stones and rounded boulders. Hopefully Dietrich will post his image from this location soon - I can tell you in advance, it's a fantastic image!

Anyway, the rocky beach you see in the corner of Chris's image are the same stones contained in my image here looking along the length of this fairly short rocky beach line. there was a gap in the marine layer and for a few moments there was enough light provided to warm up the surf and stones. I have several variations from this spot, but this one works the best I think.

I continue to be amazed at how any number of photographers putting themselves in the same location, can come away with such diversity.

Would love to hear your thoughts and critiques.

4x5 300mm V50 f/32 @2s and a polarizer.
TK's magic and lots of processing....

thanks!

Lon

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on September 10, 2012 at 2:42 AM

Beautiful image Lon. Love the action on the water in between each stone. The three stones in the foreground provide a nice base to the image with nice colors also. Nice work.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on September 10, 2012 at 2:51 AM

Lovely. The floss like sheathes of water around the rocks work very well.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on September 10, 2012 at 5:21 AM

Well captured scene in some really beautiful light. Well processed.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on September 10, 2012 at 5:47 AM

Beautifully composed scene Lon, and I especially like the way the light glistens on the rocks. Really like this. Well done.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on September 10, 2012 at 7:46 AM

Love the isolation of the fg rock cluster and the light on the large rock. The slightly magenta water seems a bit strange, but perhaps it's my monitor. The upper right section pulls my eye quite strongly away from the lovely fg rocks, but overall I love your comp and the light captured.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Gerald Liddelow on September 10, 2012 at 9:32 AM

Very nice, I like the detail in the FG rocks and the way you captured the water movement.

Registered on August 10, 2011, 30 Posts, 40 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on September 10, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Another rock solid capture Lon.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on September 10, 2012 at 11:01 AM

This is my kind of image! Absolutely lovely Lon. Love the subtle coloration and detail among the rocks. Great job - looks like y'all had a lot of fun!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on September 10, 2012 at 11:36 AM

Wow, this really came out very nice, Lon. I think for me the water action is perfect for this scene. Not always easy when shooting film and getting that right. The larger version of course provides that exactingly front to back excellent DOF and focus too. The placement of the front larger boulder makes the best of a corner anchor to the scene also.
I'm sure the polarizer was a savior with the amount of possible glare off the water and the highly water polished beach rocks.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on September 10, 2012 at 12:27 PM

Hi Lon, so, finally I get to see your harvest of that day. And I must say it is really good! That warm light really helps to convey the scene to the viewer, and your composition, using that bigger rock as focal point, is very well chosen. A very fine image, that certainly does not dilute your portfolio. Can you do bad images anyway?

But I have something to be picky about: These was not any number of photographers, but three hand-picked members of NPN.

And I did two days of scouting along Big Sur for you guys...

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on September 10, 2012 at 1:15 PM

The light made all the difference for this photo Lon. I love Garrapata as well and it is one of my go to places for seascape photography. I have been going there on a regular basis for more than 10 years. I lead a workshop there at the end of summer each year (when someone signs up). Now I feel like posting something from there.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on September 10, 2012 at 4:31 PM

Really nice detail and sharpness in this Lon. Interesting rocks with all the speckles on them. The side lighting hitting the rocks is nice too.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Roper on September 10, 2012 at 10:13 PM

Very nice shot Lon. I have to agree with the other comments, the foreground rocks really capture my attention especially the color in them and I like the soft swirls of water.

Registered on January 19, 2012, 5 Posts, 46 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 10, 2012 at 10:21 PM

Sweet image, Lon. I like the effect of the long exposure on the water and the interaction of that with the stones.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on September 10, 2012 at 10:39 PM

When I first started shooting, I was really into these, but never really captured one that made me smile. This one does, and it's really all about the light. Nice comp for sure, but without the wet luster and warm light this would be something else.

I really wanted to try and integrate more of these cobbles into the foreground of my wide view, but it just didn't work.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on September 11, 2012 at 1:20 PM

I really like the rhythm of this image and the beautiful balance between the static and dynamic elements. Very nice image (sorry about your leg)

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

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on September 12, 2012 at 10:25 AM

The foreground stones are a great anchor and gateway into the rest of the image. What a wonderful sense of "being there" watching the surf break on a stony beach.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on September 12, 2012 at 11:08 AM

Very nice, Lon. I am all over this.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on September 12, 2012 at 11:39 AM

Lon, this is a wonderful intimate portrait of this beach for me. I especially enjoy the transition from the foreground to the depth of your image. The tangible textures of the stones draw my attention and keep me exploring all the details. I really enjoy the interplay of elements.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on September 14, 2012 at 1:15 PM

Hi Lon, I was gone up to Lake Superior this week and see that I missed some really nice images while gone, this being one of them! This image is really beautiful. I love the combination of all the elements here and it is so well done. This would make a wonderful large print. Excellent work!!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments