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First Visit to Beautiful Crystal Cove
First Visit to Beautiful Crystal Cove
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Mar, 2016Views
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Awards
Action Award
Top Shot Award 22
Legendary Award
Member Selection Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 31
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
"Crystal Clear" was taken at Crystal Cove State Park in December 2015. I was hoping for some nice winter clouds, but they escaped me and gave way to this extremely low and calm tide. I knew the clarity of the water and the texture of the rocks and sea grass would become my focus.Time
This was taken at right after sunset at about 5:15 p.m. Usually, this beach is crawling with people, but the slight winter chill must've sent them home.Lighting
I wanted to share the calm of the water and the fact that there was still enough light to expose the rocks tide pools made the shot.Equipment
Canon EOS 6D DSLR, 17-40, Really Right Stuff Tripod, Singh Ray Daryl Benson ND 3 Rev Grad Filter, B+W 77mm Circular PolarizerInspiration
Four photographers met to take advantage of a wonderful cloud cover... that disappeared. We spread out along the shoreline to do our thing, and even though we didn't shoot "together," it was fun shooting together. Some of the best people I have ever met just love to capture nature. In this case, a doctor, a businessman, and sales woman, and a teacher were able to get together to share a passion.Editing
This is a single shot that I manipulated using Lightroom and the NIK collection in Photoshop. In Lightroom, I toned down the highlights and brought out any shadows. I also allowed used the lens correction tool. In Photoshop, I used define and Color Efex Pro and took advantage of the Dynamic Contrast Feature. Viveza was used to dodge and brighten the edges.In my camera bag
I have two lenses for my full-frame camera: a 17-40 and a 24-105. They each have a polarizer and I carry a 4-stop ND filter to capture blur motion in water on the sunnier days. I have one ND filter that I love. I always use a tripod and a shutter release.Feedback
Big waves and epic sunsets are what we always chase. Those are easy things to get excited about. When they are not available, I look for texture and for lines. Thankfully, the low tide gave me exactly that -- a brand new opportunity to challenge myself and grow!
