Early Spring evening with heavy storm clouds moving across the sky to the west barring any possibility of a grand sunset, and ruins of old boardwalk and pier in the foreground - I wished I had brought my tripod to this day. But wait... this camera I was carrying not only had a built in ND filter but also a rock solid IBIS allowing one to take longer than sub seconds exposures. As someone who grew up taking long exposure photographs at night in the wilderness, shooting handheld was quite the breakthrough in terms of experience.
Sea stack and sun flare
One would find amazing work in photography and paintings of sunset over Haystack Rock in Canon Beach, Oregon. But what stuck in my mind the most, even before visiting this place the first time two decades ago was monochrome photographs from the turn of the century I found while researching on the history. Now I know this is not the first time anyone has thought and executed this before but by fat the years I have visited and photographed these sea stacks I have never been satisfied with the results until now.
This is not an analog photography propaganda, I am just thrilled that I have created something special.
Light pillars in the lake
It is incredibly beautiful how lights at the edge of a water body form long pillar-like reflections on the water, especially when viewed from the other side of the water body.
32 sec at f/11, ISO 100
Stacks in tide
For a world less square [from XPAN brochure]
2022: Day One
Western Washington is still clad in ice and snow remnants from two winter storms since Christmas of 2021. There is no ice on the beach but the way to it had plenty, rendering the travel to the beach somewhat inconvenient if not difficult and dangerous.
In terms of golden hour quality, an hour before sunset the scene looked promising but soon clouds moved in. Regardless, it was a memorable dusk: As the tide receded I walked farther towards the waterline with the camera on the tripod, taking 1/2-2 seconds exposure shots, occasionally retreating for a rogue wave. The sky turned pink for a bit, the clouds however remained unlit. I was more fascinated by the retreating bubbles on small waves that were consistent with the wind blowing north.
End of spring
Second spring amidst a global pandemic but with less unknowns and variables compared to the last one, pushed me to revisit places I’ve not seen for a long time, places that would have otherwise been on the B list.
Here’s to the end of spring, brace yourself for long and warm days ahead.
The Pacific
My limited knowledge about states of matter tells me it is improbable however, the wind from the ocean feels salty, it extracts moisture on contact. This is why I never liked the salty ocean. But wide open skies for dawn or dusk is rare to find when you live by the mountains.
Rapid
I consider myself proficient in swimming and yet I dread the water. Probably there is a genetic or hereditary element to it added to culture and traditions in growing up in India. Also my best friend died in a drowning accident might have leveraged this fear by a few degrees.
But it’s not hard to block that instinct otherwise taking photographs like this one would not have been possible.