Seaing Stars

I finally have some new work to show, and quite a bit of it I might add. My latest work was from my autumn trip to Yosemite with Lon, Preston and Chris Chamberlain, and I debated with myself if I should start with that work, which I am very excited about, or to move through my work chronologically.

In the end I think I will post based on what excites me most. I have over 50 new images to share so it will be a while till I am all done.

This photo was a year in planning and execution and I have been waiting for the transparency for nearly 2 months. I only ship out film when I have a good crop to cut down on shipping cost.

Last year I made a photo titled The Gathering. Since that time I had envisioned this photo of tons of sea stars all arranged together with whatever you could find at low tide.

Here along the Northern California coast we get some good negative low tides in late summer that along some beaches expose an almost innumerable number of sea stars. So staffed with my 4 photo assistants, my kids, we ventured out with this photo as our mission. We spent about three hours at one particular beach combing the rocks and tide pools that form at a good negative low tide.

My assistants had the best time in their lives as they collected these items. Falling into pools deeper than they thought, getting soaked head to toe, and getting to swim in the frigid Pacific waters in N. California was like a dream come true to them, and seeing this collection get bigger and bigger just made them more excited as the day unfolded.

Then just before sunset, the fog, which is a regular fixture here in the summer, started to give off a faint pink glow that just bathed these stars in some amazing soft light that was just perfect for this photo.

We all came back soaked, chilled to the bone, and as happy as larks. My car took two days to dry out, and sand is still embedded in the upholstery.

You comments and feedback is most appreciated. Please do look at the larger version for detail.

4x5, f45, 6 sec, 150mm, Fuji Provia 100F, TK Luminosity and Saturation Masks.

P.S. The 16x20 enlargement that I just finished printing is amazing and a must see for your self.

P.P.S. Just to be clear, all the sea stars were unharmed, alive and placed back in the water or on rocks at the water line when we finished and left. We also found two small crabs that were alive and tried to include them in the composition. One did stay for a while but eventually both had scampered off and we did not pursue them.