Muscles on the beach

You've heard of "Muscle Beach", here are muscles on the beach.  Low tide at San Clemente pier at sunset.  

It's been awhile since I posted mostly because I haven't been out photographing.  I'm hoping to change that in the coming weeks.  With it being the dead of winter here in SoCal (80 degrees today) I'm hoping for some rain and storms to get some dramatic skies. Unfortunately, nothing in the forecast about rain. 

Night View of the Pier

Here's a night shot of the San Clemente Pier.  This was taken about a half hour after the sun went down using a long exposure setting.  As you can see, the sky looks more like it does in the daylight.  Of course because of the long exposure the water looks silky and smooth.  This is one of my favorites of this pier.  

Evening at the Pier

I went out to the San Clemente pier recently and took a few shots.  It had rained that morning so there were still some clouds in the sky.  That made for a more interesting sky for sunset.  All of these shots are HDR (High Dynamic Range), meaning that they are a composite of several pictures shot at different exposure settings.  That way the highlight and shadow areas are properly exposed in the final shot. 

This evening was particularly nice because it was cool but not cold.  That kept the crowd down to a minimum and made for a very comfortable and peaceful stroll along the beach.  I like the leading lines in this second picture.  It leads your eye right to the end of the pier and the setting sun.  

I like to experiment with different post processing techniques.  This next shot is an example of an artistic interpretation of the subject using HDR.  Some may consider it a bit over the top but I like the effect it has on the sky.  What do you think?  

This last picture was obviously taken from under the pier. I converted it to black and white, something that I haven't done much of in the past.  I plan on doing more of it.  Something about black and white that just cuts right to the essence of the subject.  By the way, if you want to see a larger version of any of these pictures, just click on them and you will be able see them in more detail.  If you've got a minute, be sure to leave a comment.  Let me know what you like or dislike.  Thanks.

My Photography Exhibition

Sunrise Under The Pier

About 8 months ago, after I gave a talk to the Kiwanis Club about my photography,  I was honored to be invited by a city official to exhibit my photography at the Mission Viejo Library.  At first, I was a little reluctant because I have never exhibited any of my photography anywhere.  But I quickly came to my senses and accepted the invitation.    Well, I am happy to tell those of you who didn't know, the exhibit began about three weeks ago and continues until October 29th.  I limited the exhibit to seascapes.  One of the photos I included was the the one above which was taken under the San Clemente pier.

Directly above is a picture of the exhibit.  Kind of cool.  Anyway, thanks for reading.  Until next time.