This is one of the most beautiful spots you’ll find on the drive along California State Route 1. It’s located where Little Sur River empties into the Pacific Ocean, only a few miles from Carmel and Monterey.
This was taken the third time I drove by Little Sur River Beach in the last two years, and finally, on this day luck was on my side with the regard to weather. The third time’s a charm, I guess. It was an unusually warm January evening – windy but warm with thick, white clouds covering the horizon but leaving the rest of the sky exposed and illuminated by the sun.
It took a lot of willpower to give up this view and pack my tripod so I could drive into the fog and clouds to another spot along the California coast.
Deconstructing Featured Photo
- Camera: Canon 60D
- Lens: Sigma 10-20mm
- Focal Length: 10mm
- Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority (A)
- ISO: 100
- Aperture: F9
- Magic Lantern: free firmware addon to extend camera functionality
- Bracketing: 5 shots (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2)
- Tripod: FEISOL Tournament CT-3442
- Ballhead: FEISOL CB-40D
Processing
Lightroom: import, tagging, export to Photomatix
Photomatix: 4 exposures (-2, -1, 0, +1) used to tone map image, 16-bit tiff image was exported to Lightroom
Photoshop: straightening, color correction, export as PSD image
Photoshop: cleaning, color correction, sharpening
Photoshop Plugins:
– Topaz Detail was used to enhance details in foreground elements (grass, fence)
– Topaz DeNoise helped to eliminate noise in the sky.