This is the very first photo I took during my first drive along California State Route 1. I had just landed in Los Angeles, and before driving toward Santa Barbara I stopped by Santa Monica Pier.
Just a few hours earlier, I was in Eastern Canada where the late January morning temperature was below -30° C, which is extreme even by Montreal standards. On my way to the airport, I looked and felt very uncomfortable and odd wearing light clothes, ready for my West Coast adventure.
Then I found myself at the ocean wearing a t-shirt and enjoying warm rain. It felt like California.
Loc: 34.00993, -118.49865
Deconstructing Featured Photo
- Camera: Canon 60D
- Lens: Sigma 17-70mm
- Focal Length: 17mm
- Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority (A)
- ISO: 100
- Aperture: F9
- Shutter Speed: 1/250
- Bracketing: 3 shots ( -1, 0, +1)
- Tripod: hand-held
Processing: HDR Processed
Lightroom: import, tagging, export to Photoshop HDR Pro
Photoshop: 3 exposures ( -1, 0, +1) used to tone map image, 32-bit tiff image was saved to Lightroom
Lightroom: straightening, cropping, split toning, export as PSD image
Photoshop: cleaning, sharpening
Photoshop Plugins:
- Topaz Detail was used to enhance details in foreground elements (grass, fence)
- Topaz DeNoise helped to eliminate noise in the sky.