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Oceanside South Jetty V

Oceanside South Jetty V

Oceanside South Jetty V

This long exposure (6 minutes) on the South Jetty in Oceanside, CA was one of the last images I made from on top of the jetty on this trip. There was enough light to frame and focus the image with live view. I used aperture priority to determine the average exposure of the scene then attached a Schneider Optics ND3.0, 10-stop neutral density filter to my Canon 16-35 f2.8L II wide angle zoom lens. After calculating the adjusted exposure I triggered the shutter with my cable release and started the timer on my iPhone.

Oceanside South Jetty III

Oceanside South Jetty III

This is a ~4min exposure made without an ND filter. It was pretty dark still and I had a tough time framing the shot because I could barely see the jetty through the viewfinder. I used the electronic level to get the framing almost perfectly level to prevent the need to crop in post so this shot is very nearly full frame.

Ocean Beach Pier

50 second pre-dawn exposure of the pier in Ocean Beach, CA.

90 second pre-dawn exposure of the pier in Ocean Beach, CA.

120 second pre-dawn exposure of the pier in Ocean Beach, CA.

Arriving at a pier for the first time in the dark you are a little bit unsure what will come from the session. The milkiness of the overcast sky and relatively quiet ocean can really be felt in these images. This is a very quiet location with only a handful of fishermen arriving before dark. After sunrise and the finish of the session there is a small coffee shop that opens in the plaza at the foot of the pier and breakfast for the ride home available across the street. I will definitely return to this location...

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Pier

Pathway II

The first of my pier series I visited the pier at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the pre-dawn hours to capture these images. The under the pier image was captured well before sunrise... the pier pilings being lit by lights on the shore. I think they were some kind of sodium vapor lamp because of the yellowish cast they put on the pilings but I'm not sure. Since I didn't like the yellow color much I tweaked the color channels until I got something I liked more.

Pathway I