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This beach at Montana De Oro state park, halfway between San Francisco and LA, has some of the most incredible geologic formations on the California coastline that I've seen yet. I made some long exposure images when that low fog moved in, that show off the structures and I may upload those later.
I had to get in close to the action to show the wet rock in detail. In fact, I had moved in little too close just a few minutes earlier. The results of which you can see in the variation I've posted. See that version large. How refreshing! And there was no way to run on this sort of surface......
1/4 second exposure @F10 with ND grads 0.9 + 0.6
| Title: | De Oro Surf |
| Username: | 
PatrickSmith |
| Uploaded: | 26 Nov 2007 - 2:51 PM |
| Camera: | Canon EOS 5D |
| Lens: | Canon 17-40L @18 |
| Recording media: | RAW (digital) |
| Tags: | Big sur, California, General, Landscape / travel, Rock layers |
| Votes: | 162 |
 | Variant - Report |
Comments
great layers of rock there Patrick, looks like you had my kind of fun 
Very nice capture, both of them. However, I prefer version 1 for some reason...
Cheers
Kris
I wonder why after all you weresoaked anyway Patrick, must have seemed like a good idea at the time.
All the very best
Dougie
Thanks for your comments!
Um, yes Maddie, it was LOTS of fun...lol...!
Well Dougie, I ended up soaking wet for the rest of this evening. But it was worth it for the shots I got.
Patrick
Magnificent presentation Patrick. Superb reflections of the sky in the water and the waves breaking over the FG rocks gives a great feeling of life and animation. Fantastic FG rock formation.
Ron
Yes, Maddie appears to like swimming these days. She would be no more if she went swimming here!
Patrick
Crikey !
I like both versions, V1 my favourite.
A great shot, the detail you achieved is stunning.
PS; thanks for recent comment.
Robert
really like the drama of the second one, excellent dynamics and a sight to scare any tog!
what a fantastic rock formation, love the waves and no2 is just great
ian
WOW, now they are bloomin good shots with perfect timing.
Two excellent images. Annette
looked at #2 large and got a soaking - thanks for that!!! 
Two cracking images Patrick, love the detail you've caught in the rock formation in #1 and the drama you've captured so well in #2, excellent stuff.... 
Your right Keith,. the action in the second version is excellent. Pal
Wow, took my breath away - and you lived to tell the tale (and take more pics). Keep it up.
Freda
Thanks for stopping by! It's a close race between version 1 and 2 so far.
Yes Jeanie. Even your leaky Wellies are of no use here! And there were no cute surfer girls to save me like how Maddie was saved a while back! And swimming here means an early demise for sure.
Patrick
Brill patrick - very nice- the colours of water look amazing in all your shots
In Navy terms, you've been goffered. Hope the camera survived this ok. Well worth the effort on both images. They are quite spectacular. Take it easy out there though there aren't always lifeguards and lifeboats around.
fascinating rock structures, I hope nothing was damaged with the soaking
a superb image Patrick i like the shiny rocks in the foreground then the whoosh of the waves topped of by the superb sky. the 2nd version looks really dramtic dont get washed away.
This has the Wow factor again Patrick. Well timed and composed. Definetely worth the soaking. I think I'd have legged it before the version 2 shot though.
Regards Cheesey.
Thanks for dropping in! I was careful despite how it looks.
Cheesey, this was actually taken after version #2. I had a plastic bag, so I got drenched and kept on shooting!
Patrick
Two superb images Patrick, I have a slight preference for No.1,
Fred.
Very nice Patrick, just love the shape of those rocks
Occupational hazard of a landscape photographer - a soaking while taking beach shots, however hard you try to stay dry, not so bad in the summer but in winter a bit more uncomfortable lol
Mari
Two excellent images Patrick, you've certainly gone beyond the call of duty for the epzer's to get these superb shots!
These are superb work Patrick - the rock formations are great. No wonder you got soaked with those waves!
Thanks for looking! I guess it was worth it!
Yes Mari, though the water is cold year round here. About +11c-16c. And the fog that moved in did not help along with the giant sand dune I had to climb to get out of there. I was wet and sandy!
Patrick
The wave action in #2 is quite spectacular. You have to watch those sneaker waves.
A click for both images Patrick. The second one has that Oh sh*t feeling, as you just know there's nothing you can do about the impending disaster!!
Martin
V2 is my choice for drama, V1 for a great shot. Those "slices" of rock are amazing, like they have been stacked against one another by human hands.
Stunning as always but v2 has something extra about it
Robin
The results are stunning Patrick, but I still worry for your safety.....
Nigel
A lovely image Patrick, I like the capture of the wave. Number 2 is well caught too....just before your refreshing bath
All been said Patrick but superb all the same
Brian......................
Well worth the soaking Patrick. No 2 is very dramatic but I think I must go for the final result.
No 1 for me.
Brian.
Wow, how powerful is that wave action? I'd have probably been swept away.....I get so engrossed in what I'm doing I forget to watch for such things!!
I particularly like all the rock detail in the foreground too!
Debbie
Number two is the winner for me - the exploding wave looks almost unreal (it probably felt unreal too when it hit you lol).
Pete
excellent as usual Patrick, very well captured but surely you had yer wellies and brolly)
no 2 captures the essence of time ! , no doubt its everlasting.
superb
dave
Wonderful rock formation, seems to be combing the waves, great sky to back it too.
Slight preference for no 1 because of light on sea & great rock formations, no 2 is so dramatic though.
Interesting rock formation which gives a superb foreground and your timing is spot on. Like the sky too. Number 1 for me Patrick.
Paul
Thanks for your comments! So far #2 is ahead, though Malcolm and Paul just above have made it a closer race..
You're right Steve (Amethyst_Imagery).
I know exactly what you mean Martin(L)!
Pamela, they are like stacked pancakes.
Don't worry Nigel, I am a good swimmer. Probably should get a crash helmit and padding though! And an underwater housing for the camera....
Yes Martin(W), it was very refreshing fur sure!
Well Debbie, if you Duck and hold on to the rock, you can usually be fine.....
It definitely felt real to me Pete!
Patrick
Great rocks and spray. No1 for me. No 2 too close for comfort!
A stunning shot Patrick,love the version 2 with that big wave.Wonderful.
Mo.
Love the big splash in the second one, Patrick. You did well to save the camera.
Thanks for your comments! #2 still has the lead though the gap is narrowing.
'Spritz' Jennnn? Um, I guess that is one way to put it!
Yes colin, the camera is safe under the plastic bag!
Patrick
Hey Patrick, hope you had a great thanksgiving! By the way I just put in my order for the Nikon D3, let you know what its like when I get it.
Great shot, especially like the way the light brings out the color variations in the rock, another excellent piece of work! Spot on! Click!!!
Greg
WOW these images are both stunning and the second version is like 3d with the wve coming at you. What timming. Honor to be 101.
Great colours and textures in the foreground rocks, better than salt point i would say, i also like the light from the sky spreading across the ocean, i like this one best for the general scene as the light is better but the other one is obviously better for the wave action.
like how the water look like its being directed by the formation of the rock, the shot as a good sence of motion and I love the fleck of sun on the clouds.
nice one ian
Thanks for stopping by!
It was good Greg. Let me know what you think. I hope yours went well too.
Me too Chris! I just don't show them unless they look good.
Yes Michelle, there was a small one on the way with bigger ones behind. This was not easy.
Terry, it is at least as good as Salt Point but I was only able to get to a part of it on this evening. But Salt Point has more surreal formations I think.
Patrick
Now I cant work out which one I like best. But if pushed No 2 has the dramatic feel for me. I was born by the coast and would spend a lot of winter days standing on rocks getting soaked by waves.. A thing you would get stopped doing in this 'nanny state' we have now...
I would be happy to have either on my wall though..
You work never fails to impress Patrick - love both shots but especially No2, really up close and personal! Worth the soaking!
Sarah *
Great shot i absolutly love the little rivulets of water on the rock in the back ground. Glad you did not fall in.
Mavis
That's a great image, Patrick, and it's great to see the extra one too.
David
Love the shapes of those foreground rocks.
Excellent work
Clive
Those rock formations are wonderful, so it's No. 1 for me... that said, love the drama of No. 2 - and glad you survived to tell the tale and share these beauties.
Allie
ver 2 has got to get you a soaking!!
both strong images, nice work
cheers
Excellent captures, both of them. Tonyhanners has put it well detail in v1 & drama in v2
Alan
Thanks for your comments! #2 is still ahead by a small amount.
LOL Edgar, we have a bit of the nanny state effect going here. You woudl like this beach though. Lots of big surf and very very fresh air!
You're right Sarah, though I didn't think so at the time....
Patrick
wow ,super shots ,didn"t think ther would be room left to comment .lol .
well done
mark
Both great shots Patrick, I can't choose one over the other, I like No1 for the light that brings out the texture on the rocks, and No2 for the drama with the wave.
Pete.
Wonderful shots patrick, I don't know which one I prefer. They really pack a punch.
Laura
Thanks for dropping by!
It is still a close race with #2 slightly ahead.
Patrick
I think I prefer the first one but they are both excellent. If you go from one to the other there is tremendous movement.
Di
Did you curse after V2 ?
You did, didn't you ?
admit it... did you use the F word ? Blasphemy perhaps ? both ?
A very fine photo Patrick. Has all the ingredients that make your photos so recognizeble. Particularly the lack of people lol.
beautiful colours, patterns and that beautiful and slightly weird spray to finish it off.
Thanks Di!
Me Koen? Use naughty words? Never!
Well, I did use "GD" as in that sure was a Gosh Darn big wave!
And I used "MF" as in "That is sure some Mighty Fine sea water I'm swimmin in!
but no, no naughty words....
Patrick
Thanks Neil!
And that is okay Dot.
By the way Koen, every shot of mine should get an EC just for my ability to hide the 7 million people that live in the San Francisco area!
Patrick
Two spectacular images, love the drama of the splash in #2. Lucky you to have the surf, it's enviable.
Anne
A dramatic capture the other version and this is as stunning as we have get used to. Great
Peter
Stunning shot. Like the breaking wave very much, the detail/clarity from the rocks is very nice
Sean
Holy smokes, Patrick, that was some splash reaching out to grab you in v2!!...lol...glad you kept the cam dry!
You know what? I actually prefer v2 for the sheer power...but the rocks in v1 really...er...rock! I've never seen those sort of formations - quite stunning, aren't they??
A
Thanks for your comments! #2 is still slightly ahead so far.
Andrew, I saw these on Google Earth and another website that shows arial photos of the entire California coast and I was still amazed when I first saw these formations.
Patrick
..Patrick..I can imagine you must have got a bit of a soaking - version 2 certainly demonstrates the drama. - right in your face
the first is wonderful - the linear patterns of the splash go so well with those of the rock - gorgeous light throughout.
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