Garrapata State Park

• William James.

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When I picked up the Lee Big Stopper, it was more out of curiosity rather than any genuine need. At that time, I was living on the east coast and it helped a lot in making those cloudy overcast days interesting. Soon it became one of my most used filters until I moved to the west coast. My usage stats for this filter basically fell off a cliff and the 2 stop ND grad gained its top spot back in my filter kit.

One of the coolest usages of a 10 stop ND filter like the Lee Big Stopper is during the predawn time period. Usually, during this time, the light is very even allowing for even lower shutter speed. Another aspect is that this is the period when color will start to appear in the sky and usually the colors are soft pastel in varying hues and in a longer exposure you will be able to see these colors much better than the naked eye ca. My theory is that since these color patches are the brightest areas in the whole scene they are rendered in a long exposure better while our eyes more tuned for the overall darker scene and misses the faint colors. This shot was taken at the Garrapatta state park just before dawn and I didn’t notice any color in the clouds when I took this shot but when I opened the image in the photoshop I could see the faint pastels in the sky. The added benefit is the smooth surf that provides an ethereal feel to the stunning coastline.

• Edwin Way Teale.

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One of my favorite time to shoot seascapes is just before sunrise. I prefer this time to the after sunset as there is usually more ambient light. This time is magical because of the way the color starts in the sky, it's so faint that you must pay close attention to see it and be ready for the shot. As the sun slowly breaks the horizon the intensity of the colors fades away to the first rays of the day. It's like transforming from one dreamy scene to another. I am not at all a morning person, but photography drove me towards waking up for sunrises and now for sunrise I can wake up any time and instantly be alert.

This shot was taken at the beautiful Garrapata state park in California’s famed coast of Big Sur. I had posted an earlier shot of the same composition with much dramatic sunrise colors. This shot was taken closer to the sunrise and hence the absence of color. I used a two stop ND filter to get a longer exposure to get the beautiful surreal water movements.

• Hermann Broch.

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Another shot of the beautiful sunrise we got to see at the Garrapatta State Park in Big Sur. After taking the classic viewpoint of the park, I went on a stroll looking for interesting composition and saw this beautiful cove near a viewpoint. I didn’t like the composition from the viewpoint so wandered around a bit and found this spot. The interesting part about this spot was that I could include the tiny beach and the turquoise color of the water in the image. I felt that it complimented nicely with the beautiful pink in the sky.

I didn’t use an ND grad as the rising sun lit up the foreground a bit more but kept the polarizing filter on to cut the glare from the water. I loved the details on the rocks and made sure that the image was sharp throughout the frame. Hope you all like the image.

• Jo Walton

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This was the viewpoint that I wanted to photograph at Garrapatta State park. In fact, when the trip was in the planning stage, I didn’t think this was that much of a good view and relegated it to a morning shoot. From my previous trips, I have assumed that all you can count on for sunrise is that there will be diffused light and fog. But this cold winter morning was different, as we approached the park, I noticed that there were some clouds in the sky but the mountains to the east didn’t instill much hope for a colorful sunrise.

The first light of the day appeared right behind this scene and I posted that image yesterday but after a few seconds the color start to intensify at the clouds close to Soberanes point and I was back at the original spot. This shot required a 3-Stop ND-Grad filter and I used a longer shutter speed by dropping my iso to the base iso of the D850 and then exposing for the foreground. After taking a test shot, I adjusted the exposure compensation by positive two-thirds of a stop to get some light on the hills. This is my favorite shot from the trip as the light on the rocks and the reflection of the pink color on the ocean rare gifts that make landscape photography special.

A quick note about today’s quote, I have been absolutely amazed by the way some people react to my photos. Some not all, think that the color in sunrise/sunset shots are completely generated in post/photoshop and often have a disbelieving look when I explain to them that this happens everywhere you just have to put in the effort to get out and to pay attention. Thom Hogan used to have an excellent article about the late great Galen Rowell titled Magic Moment where Galen explained the importance of sunsets and sunrises that I wish everyone had learned.

• Lord Byron.

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When living in sunny southern California, it's hard to imagine that one of the most stunning coastlines on the planet is just a few hundred miles north. Big Sur has some of the most scenic coastlines comparable to the best in the world. Unfortunately, due to the marine layer, the west coast of the united states is a difficult place to photograph as the golden hour is usually engulfed in thick layers of fog and the only time you get decent light is during the short days of winter, even then its not a guarantee. As you still see the marine layer lingering a short distance from the coast as if waiting for an opportunity to swallow the coastline whole.

My initial years in California were filled with trips up and down the Pacific coast highway trying to take as many pictures of the rugged seashore. But later I started to concentrate more on the tiny little state parks that dot the sides of the highway. These parks took you to another world, the scenery was maybe not as grand as the one’s observable from some of the major scenic viewpoints but more intimate. It was as if the parks were letting you in on its secrets. This shot was taken at Garrapata state park looking north just after sunrise. There was no fog this morning and we were able to get some fantastic color in the sky during sunrise.

A wonderful stormy and foggy morning in Big Sur, California

• Alfred Lord Tennyson.

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It’s the dawn of 2019 and I thought it would be awesome to post an image from one of the best sunrises that I have seen this year. This photo was taken at Big Sur’s Garrapatta State park. Now Big Sur wouldn’t be the place that usually comes to the mind when you hear the word sunrise. Its westernmost location and the mountains towards the east usually blocks any light from the spectacular shoreline in the morning.

Also, another factor that many people do not account for about the Big Sur coastline is the ever-present fog. The quote “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” is true in many ways and the Big Sur Coastline if cold windy and foggy during summer and it usually takes a strong sun to make the fog retreat to the ocean. We have visited the coast many times during sunrise and realized that we can only barely see the ocean.

So, it was a great surprise to get to Garrapatta state park at sunrise to see stunning pink colored clouds above the beautiful coastline of Northern big Sur. We spent an absolutely beautiful sunrise photographing and hiking the various trails of this beautiful state park.

I used a 2 stop ND grad filter to get the sky a bit darker and a polarizer to get the details in the shoreline. The composition was aimed at using the spectacular ridgeline as a leading element to the stunning coast and sea stacks and the rare sunrise sky.