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This was a tough one to take and process.
The sunset was so intense that I had to desaturate the raw file by 10% to get back the detail in the clouds, which had turned into one big reddish blob when I first saw it in Photoshop!
Anyway, it was high tide and the waves were going right over the top of this 10 foot slab of sandstone, but I just had to get this sunset with the water flowing back down the rock face. The problem was that there was no place to run when the waves hit. Right behind the tripod in this shot is a 10 foot straight drop with a gradual drop to the left where I could slide down the slippery back side with tripod in hand.
After about 15 minutes of running up and down, I finally got this one shot which was my only shot of this sunset for this evening.
A bunch of people were watching me from the cliff and when I climbed back up, some of them wanted to see my shots in the camera. I sold two prints on the spot! They were laughing because I was soaked and it was not warm out.
0.4 second exposure @F8 with 2 ND grad 0.9's
| Title: | La Jolla Falls |
| Username: | 
PatrickSmith |
| Uploaded: | 4 Feb 2008 - 3:36 PM |
| Camera: | Canon EOS 5D |
| Lens: | Canon 17-40L @17 |
| Recording media: | RAW (digital) |
| Tags: | California, General, La jolla, Landscape / travel, San diego, Seascape |
| Votes: | 175 |
Comments
What a great shot Patrick, just a beautiful area, great composition, very well done.
Bob
My wife MickyMc,has just said "Cor,thats fabulous whose is that?" Need I say more.
Cheers
Alan
Beautiful work Patrick. Gorgeous colours in this.
Worth getting soaked for, for sure!
Jeanie
You always get great skies in your shots and this one is no exception, good timing on the water too.
Thanks for your comments!
Yes Jouko, usually I point away from sunsets but I could not resist.
That says it all Alan, I'm glad you told me.
It was worht it Jeanie, though I barely got this one. And I thought that I would leave this place empty handed. I mean, to have a sunset like this and no shots to show for it?? But I had to try for it.
Thanks Terry, though I went out last night to Bodega Bay. Great light and skies, but 40mph winds sustained right off the ocean. I was getting spray 100 feet up the cliff. I came back with nothing but windburn!
Patrick
Now thats a quality piece of pp work... stunning image
Dave
Well worth your efforts - love the water streaming off the rocks. Beautiful image.
A wonderful blend of colour and light..just makes me want to stare and sink into the scene. Another superb seascape.
Di
stangely enough I knew this was yours even though it's different for you.... Well worth the effort you had to put in to get this one Patrick and I'm not surpised at all that you sold two prints off the back of a 5D screen, I bet they were even more amazed at the finished print 
Thanks for stopping by!
I was surprized Tony because that has never happened to me. Though usually I am on a deserted beach with nobody around at all. That is less embarassing considering what I do sometimes!
Patrick
Patrick,
I love the way you tell the story behind the picture - it adds so much more. That's a huge amount of exposure balancing you've had to do - 2 ND9s! The result is stunning as ever. Glad you persevered with this one 
Cheers, Jon
Hi Patrick, hope you are well, sounds like you are up to your old tricks of getting wet)
Ange
Truly wonderful. The light and movement in the water are first class.
Thanks for sharing it with us
Den
Cracking shot again Patrick and well worth all your effort!
This should get an awful lot of votes!...
Well done and keep up the descriptions you give in the phot information fields, I enjoy reading them.
Cheers
Matt
The way the colors interplay with the lines in this image is outstanding --- an more!
Absolute pleasure to view-- 100%
Jennnnnn
Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you like the description.
Yes John, the sky was so bright that even 2 ND grad 0.9's were barely enough!
True Ange, up to my old tricks..lol!
That's okay Jouko. I usually don't point into the sun, but I have a much different one planned for next week.
Patrick
Quite different for you and the excellent write up explains why.
Another stunning image with super timing of the water.
Well worth the hard work. Annette
Different colorwise from the previous ones I've seen, but still definitely bears your fingerprint.
Superb timing on the waves. On my monitor there seems to be just a tiny green copper tint to the sunset which works really well with the foreground greens! The rose tones reflected on the water and foreground is also very appealing.
Congratulations on selling prints immediately.
Anne
Thanks for looking!
Yes Annette and Ann, it is different because I usually don't shoot straight at the sunset. Everything to my eye had a red-pink tone to it. Even the greens looked different than they did just an hour before when I was doing some recon. The colour was so unusual, that other than desaturating, I just left it alone.
Yes Ann, I was surprized about that!
Patrick
How many times to I have to tell you...be more careful,you might sell three next time !!
Superb shot love teh water movement and the colour in the sky
Steve
One of thoes time when we wish we could float in the air 2 meters to the right.... because the water cascading off that rock is exceptional. Given our phisical limitations, I think you nailed this one 
Quote: A bunch of people were watching me from the cliff and when I climbed back up, some of them wanted to see my shots in the camera. I sold two prints on the spot! They were laughing because I was soaked and it was not warm out.
Round here they take bets upon weather the wave gets you or not - and they cheer on the waves, believe me
Colours, I mean colours! Must be my monitor then!???
Colors, in American language........
Weirdo colors! And You and Your dangerous life!?????
You should quit your day job and write a novel of these photo shooting sessions!
Jouko
Thanks for looking in!
LOL Janet. You sure know how to scold me. If you were here, would you be 'chase' ing me around warning me about the next wave?? I finally checked out the filter. I'll send one over when I have a good one!
Yes Matt, I was over as far as I could get. I'm working on my meditation so hopefully I can float in mid-air like the yogis! Actually this is near a place called Yogi's beach because there is a SRF (Paramahansa Yogananda) retreat place nearby, so I could just go there to tune up! They cheer the waves over there? I'll have to go sometime.
Jouko, the colours were very unusual, even to my eye at the time. I wondered if anybody would even believe it. But this is as close as I can get to the real colours at the time. I just desaturated and left them alone after that. You don't even want to know what I tried yesterday. But I chickened out, due to 20 foot swells and 60 mile per hour gusts! And today it is calm and clear. I'm not quitting my day job yet.
Patrick
I can see the effort that went into this Patrick. I had a stormy day at Southwold yesterday. I was completely shattered when I got home but as I said at the time 'what great fun!'
Dave
Thanks for looking!
Yes Dave, it was stormy here too. Way too windy and salty to even take the camera out of the bag. My head got dizzy from being pounded by the wind!
Patrick
Another breathtaking image Patrick, no matter what nature throws at you, you always come up with the goods!
Worth all the hassle Patrick, you have come up with a great image. I love taking seascapes myself and have had many a cold drench from the big wave that snuck up on me while I was busy framing a shot. How we suffer for our art Patrick lol!!!!!!
Jim
Persistence has its rewards. If it was so darn easy we'd all pack up and go home Great work.
Well worth getting drenched for. Excellent photography. JNC
Thanks for having a look!
Sometimes Edmond (GlosTomcat), but not always!
True Jim, but that is often the only way to get close enough to really have the drama of the sea come through in the image.
Yes, Chris and Chris..lol, it seems like the easy ones have been done so it's time to push the envelope a bit.
Patrick
Colours, textures, movement and full of contrasts.... Super image Patrick.
MikeA.
Wonderful sky and fg drama Patrick. I'm glad too that you were able to sell prints on the spot.
Nigel
Two sales on the spot! Well you can't argue with that
Lovely colours Patrick & I bet you gave them a laugh or two running back and forth
Sean
Another winner Patrick great light detail and movement
Brian.........................
Looking at your settings and Grads that was some light Patrick.Super movement in the falls but it is hard not to be drawn to that tremendous sky.
Brian.
There's a strong essence of colour in this picture, which look silky and rich, just like an oil painting, where Artists have used layer upon layer to get the final result, which is seen here and looks Superb.
Yogendra
You work hard for your images and the result is always great
Peter
Its not a great image unless you got :
Soaked
Frozen
Lost
Looked an idiot
Thats my golden rules
Good image bro, love the soft colors...Ive had it once where a set of images I had from a sunset where so intense I couldnt use them lol, just could never get them to look real.
Tommy
Another superb shot from you Patrick and having read the story behind it you get a real sense of a lull between drenches. I hope you wear a life-jacket and torch/flashlight while plying your skills in locations like this.
In awe, as usual,
Dave
It was worth the effort, but dangerous. Someone I knew didn't make it taking images of high tide surges. Great image though.
Thanks for stopping by!
Can't argue either Sean, it was totally unexpected.
It was quite extreme Brian, with a desperate F8 so I could stay on ISO 50! Still came out sharp in front and back though.
Thanks Yogedra, if only I had the talent to paint like that.
It does seem to often end up that way Tommy. And I've also had to throw away a few where the colours were just too much.
Yes Dave, I had just enough time between waves to get back up, put the tripod exactly where it had been before and try again.
Thanks Joline. I am very careful, though I do get scratched up from time to time!
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
for a minute i thought it was called La Jolli Falls then i put my reading glasses on...lol. Amazing colours,lead in,textures and lighting. I worry about you and your shenanigans on those cliffs Patrick. I'm not surprised you sold two straight off to the people waiting to see what you had caught at the top,apart from a soaking,cold and maybe some scrapes. I agree you should write a book about the life,fun,adventures and times of being a photographer..................and that's before you actually get to take the pictures.take care,Ann
Well worth the effort Patrick. Like the water movement. John
My eyes went straight to the cloud formation/colour.. A great colour considering the probs you had. The green in the FG adds to the shot really well, breaking up the rock. The waves returning to the sea completes the whole shot wonderfully...
Regards
Thanks for looking!
Great idea Ann, La Jolli Falls! A book? maybe someday.
Chris, it just happened to be a colourful sunset. It made everything red which is why I desaturated. Not only was the sky a red blob, but the sandstone is already red in normal light.
I agree John, though I wondered at the time!
Thanks Edgar, it was a tough one!
Patrick
I really don't know what to add to all the worthy comments above Patrick, it is simply beautiful and I like it very much "Sold two on the spot" I'm impressed!
Sarah *
Oh man...AWESOME capture...and congrats on the on-the-spot sales!...lol...coo-erl
Andrew
Super shot as above well worth all the effort, congratulations on your sales.
Dot
Fabulous depth Patrick, and I love the movement of water over the rocks.
gill
Patrick thank you so much for your comments on my pictures! I had a look at your website and it is really great. I found your tutorial extremely clarifying and hope to get to where you are...in a couple of decades!!! Thanks for your input mate!!
Thanks for stopping by for a look!
I was surprised Sarah!
No problem David. I've only been doing photography for 3 years now, so you are well on your way.
Patrick
A superb shot Patrick, you've done a great job on the sky.
Pete.
Thanks Terry and Pete!
Glad you liked it Simon. LOL - But I'll have everyone know that this is an all organic image with no added pesticides, GMO's, HDR's or saturation!
Patrick
Great shot love the color and the sea going over the rocks great timing
Steve
Sounds like all your hard work and endeavours payed off Patrick. Not only did u get the sale but you got fit and got paid for it too. Cant be bad. Well done.
this is very good Patrick the detail, colour and comp' are all first class.
Thanks for looking in!
True John, it did all pay off. And I am in better shape now!
Patrick
Complimentary tones right through the image.
Very nice indeed.
Paul
Nice movement in the water patrick but it's those soft tones in the sky that does it for me
Mike
Your perseverance paid off Patrick . A wonderful image . Glad you and your camera lived to tell the tale and that you sold some xx
A stunningly beautiful composition Patrick. I envy you your talent !!.
Ron
Just Beautiful
Beautiful tones exposure water detail and movement Tints and tones detail light and a beautiful composition.
Pauline.
Thanks for your comments! As long as you hold the tripod over your head when the wave comes, it all works out fine.
Patrick
The kind of scene that makes you feel relaxed Patrick, love the way you've captured the ebb and flow, with the soft tones, beautiful, Adrian
OUCH!!!!!! A good OUCH!!!!! I knew I was gonna have to be prepared to say that when I came knocking on your portfolio Got just what I wanted..hehe... Good to see you again Patrick.
RicoFotoChico
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