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Not to discredit Fujifilm whatsoever, but the camera had reached its limits for me. The file size, the DR, ISO tolerance and what I could do in post processing with them pushed me to make a change. Sure, the Fujifilm XT-4 was an option, but it still didn’t have the look and feel of the RAW files from a Sony Alpha series camera, so I decided to jump ship back to Sony.

This article is going to highlight some of the ground work that I did to make the decision to go with the Sony A7RIII instead of the Sony A7RIV and why it’s the better choice for most landscape photographers. It also features some new pretty pictures.

Sony A7RIII vs Sony A7RIV: Key Differences and Similarities

This is a question that I’m sure many landscape photographers have found themselves in since the A7RIV came out. There are a few key differences outside of price that are worth a closer look including file size, sensor design and autofocus regarding both full frame setups.

Sensor Differences

First let’s take a look at the sensor and file size. The A7RIII sports a 42.5MP full frame stabilized back side illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor with improved, low-noise processing. The image quality and dynamic range is much improved compared to its predecessor and the dynamic range rivals that of the Nikon D850 at its long envied ISO 64 setting. The camera shoots uncompressed RAW files that come out at a file size of 81.9MB.

The A7RIV has a newly designed high-resolution full-frame 60.2MP BSI-CMOS sensor. It also has a new 16-shot high-resolution mode that can be used to generate 240MP images of static scenes (this means no moving clouds or water).

The sensor of the A7RIV is slightly noisier than the A7R III at the highest ISO values and I’ve seen some samples at lower ISO values that show the same thing. DPReview outlined this in their review of the A7RIV.

Storage Headaches

With a larger sensor and improved resolution you can run into a few problems, including lens resolving power. This sensor is downright impressive and the uncompressed RAW files are HUGE; in excess of 110MB. You better be prepared to upgrade your storage if you’re planning to pick this camera up. Seriously though this means that you will likely either need to build a new custom Mac or PC to handle the file sizes and you will definitely need to set up a new RAID storage system to handle and back up files that large. It’s definitely something to consider before purchasing.

Dynamic Range

Let’s take a closer look at DR:

The above chart came from an excellent site known as photonstophotos.net (linked in blue above). This chart displays the photographic dynamic range at each ISO value.

As you can see the A7RIII (in blue) is slightly better in terms of DR than that of the A7RIV (in black), but the differences really are going to be mostly indistinguishable in real world use.

Both cameras have fantastic sensors and in terms of printing a 42.5MP sensor will allow you to print virtually any size that you can dream up. The 61MP sensor is a monster and you may run into some issues with the resolving power of your lenses with a sensor this large. If your lenses are absolutely perfect optically, then you will the ability to print billboard size images that look amazing. For a full review of image quality and DR please check out DPReview’s reviews for both the A7RIII and the A7RIV.

Autofocus

Autofocus is an area where the A7RIV slightly edges out the A7RIII, but if you’re using this camera primarily for landscape shooting with some wildlife here and there, does that matter? No, not really. The A7RIII is still excellent for small children running around, sporting events, landscapes and yes even wildlife. The eye AF Animal eye AF and overall subject tracking on the A7RIII all work exceedingly well in real world situations and they have only been improved in the A7RIV. Both cameras shoot at 10fps with the mechanical/electronic shutter and 8fps in uncompressed RAW. Burst speed is also very close in 28 uncompressed RAW files in the A7RIII vs 33 in the A7RIV.

Touch to Focus

The touch to focus in the A7RIII is actually fairly responsive and fairly easy to use for focus stacking static subjects. The cancel button can be a bit sticky at times, but it still works pretty well. Make sure that you switch to manual mode with focus peaking to ensure that you’ve hit all of your focus points. The touchscreen and the LCD is identical in the A7RIV and didn’t see an upgrade outside of the fancy new red box. It now includes a red box instead of gray box for touch to focus, but that’s not enough to warrant spending the extra cash in my book.

Another important thing to note is that the A7RIII got a firmware update with the A7RIV made its debut. This allowed nearly all of the AF features to be updated to near A7RIV spec in the A7RIII… except the little red box. That stays with the A7RIV.

For a full review of the AF in both cameras please check out these links from DPReview A7RIV, A7RIII as they have done a great job going over the specifics of the autofocus differences between the two models.

AF Customization

Both the A7RIII and the A7RIV have it and if you don’t currently use it, you really should be. One thing that I cannot stress enough is to make sure to customize your C1, C2, C3 and C4 buttons with AF options. This makes it extremely easy to switch between different AF modes, AF coverage and different subject tracking options on the fly. If you’re photographing wildlife or even a landscape with quickly changing conditions. This video goes over how to go about making those changes.

Ergonomics

The ergonomics definitely saw a big facelift in the A7RIV with an improved larger grip and newly designed body. The button design, grip and button layouts all saw improvements in the A7RIV. Both of these cameras also offer 5-axis in body image stabilization with ~5-stops, so even your non IS lenses with perform exceedingly well. They both feature the exact same LCD screen. Full disclosure I have big hands and the hand feel of the A7RIII is great; I’ve had no issues with it whatsoever, even with larger lenses.

You will see a difference in the EVF resolution (electronic viewfinder) with the A7RIV sporting a new and improved 5.76m-dot EVF. I honestly rarely use it and when I do, I find that the A7RIII EVF is more than adequate. If that’s important to you, then it is something to consider.

Price (the deal maker)

This was the big one for me and what ultimately became the deciding factor. You can pick up an A7RIII new for $2,498.00 and if you decide to go used you can get one with an extremely low shutter count for around $2,000.00. An A7RIV will set you back $3,198.00 and the used ones are still going for around $2,800.00 – $3,000.00. I’ll give you two guesses as to what I decided to jump on.

I ended up picking up an almost new A7RIII for around $2,000.00. The differences between the A7RIII and the A7RIV were really negligible when you get down to it, especially for landscapes and it made more sense for me to put that extra savings into excellent lenses, batteries and lens filters (CPLs).

Conclusion

I hope that this article helps a bit in your decision to purchase your next Sony camera. Both the A7RIII and A7RIV are great choices for wildlife and landscape photography. With the A7RIII firmware update you’re really getting *most* of the functionality of the improved AF. The bottom line is that you wont be disappointed by either of them. The cost savings and the ability to use my 2018 Macbook Pro made the decision even easier for me. The A7RIII files are absolutely outstanding, the camera performs exceedingly well in the field and I have been extremely happy with my decision.

Stay tuned for my lens choices… Sony makes some great stuff, but there are plenty of 3rd party options that just might edge out that expensive G-Master that you’ve been eyeing.

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Can you believe that 2016 has already come and gone? As the New Year approaches I decided to take some time to reflect on what 2016 has meant to me and just where I see myself heading in 2017. To say that 2016 was a big year for me would be an understatement. I got married, photographed a fairly large chunk of southern Utah, experienced shooting lava on the Big Island, spent a fair amount of time shooting locations around my home in Washington state and started working full-time for DPReview. I definitely have a lot to be grateful for this year and it’s going to be hard to top 2016, although I’m definitely going to give it a run for its money!

Photographically speaking this year was full of ups and downs. Between my career change and the wedding, I had a lot on my plate, which meant that I definitely had to make the most out of every photographic opportunity that presented itself this past year. This meant that I had to buckle down, focus and get creative. Additionally, if that wasn’t enough, I decided to try to reshape my personal image of what ‘popular’ photography is and what it means to me. 

I spent a lot of time this year reflecting on just why we create photos, why we go through the hours of driving, shooting and processing the images that we share. This year, more than ever, I realized just how important it is to shoot for yourself and to really create images that offer not only personal satisfaction, but also a sense of place, a sense of being and a story. Photography shouldn’t be about epic light and who got the best conditions in any given year, it should be about personal progression and overcoming adversity.

As photographers, we often dwell so much on what’s popular on social media or if a photo will sell that we often lose track of why we got started in the first place. I spent a lot of time soul searching this year and really asking myself why I create the images that I do and just what I hope to accomplish with them. My images may not always be ‘what’s popular’ or ‘what’s main stream’, but that’s not my end goal; my goal is to create work that inspires myself and others to try something new and to look beyond the lens.

Looking Beyond the Lens

Looking beyond the lens is something that I think that we all need to do from time to time. Put down the camera and just take it all in. This became even more apparent when I was out on the lava field shooting the ocean entry where new land was being created right before my eyes. My family has a long history in Hawai’i; we immigrated to the islands in mid to late 1800’s. To say that seeing the lava entering the sea was a spiritual experience would be an understatement. My connection with Aina, the land, my ohana and the culture made me realize just how small we are in this world and to really respect the time that we have to take it all in. Photography has opened my eyes to a lot of things this year, but that was one particular thing that has persisted and will for the remainder of my life.  

In order to develop my photographic vision this year and to look beyond the lens, I spent a lot of time behind my Canon 70-3oomm F4-5.6L IS telephoto lens. Minimizing scenes with long focal lengths really forces you to think outside of the box and to look beyond the lens in order to really break a grand scene down into its parts. Many of the grand scenes that we take in are only so because of the sum of their parts. Each portion of the scene can tell a story; it’s up to the photographer to decide how to decipher the story and how to present a portion of the scene that can stand on its own.

This can be extremely challenging and it definitely takes some time and a great deal of trial and error to come up with a methodology that works. This is something that I’m planning to do a lot more in 2017 as I’m looking to expand my reach to around 600mm to really capture some unique compositions.

Setting Goals

As this year comes to a close I find that it’s a great time to not only reflect personally, but to also take in all of the work that your favorite photographers have published as well. Education in photography is a never-ending process. I find myself constantly yearning to learn new things all of the time. In the end your personal progress is only hindered by the creative walls that you put up. You have the ability to do whatever you set your mind to and in 2017 I plan to to push myself even harder in that respect. Have a very happy New Year, everyone! Best of luck to you in 2017!

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Although I’ve touched upon the topic of social media and its impact on landscape photography before in a previous post: LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL MEDIA: A BLESSING AND A CURSE; I felt that it was important enough to add a bit more discussion and depth to the topic.

Mass Media and Consumption

Smoldering Embers – Mt St Helens – This is a perfect example of shot that I just had to get. I honestly love this area so I did this for a number of personal reasons as well.

The world of Landscape Photography is getting more and more crowded by the second.  Facebook, Instagram and several mass upload photography sites have inundated the fine art photography world with mountains and mountains of well for lack of a better word; crap.  Getting noticed and gaining relevance in this day and age is extremely difficult given the current environment we find ourselves in.  With that said the question that really stands to be asked is; why bother? Why bother pursuing a career in a field that has ultimately been consumed by copycat photographers who post the same compositions that have been shot hundreds of thousands of times over?  Patagonia, Norway, Iceland you name it are all being inundated by photographers chasing that one epic shot that everyone else has.  So, why struggle? Why fight? Why take photos at all?

I’ll be the first to say that I’ve been there; I see a photo online and I go ‘I NEED to get to that location, that’s completely insane!’.  I’ve done that more times than I can count.  With that said however how do you separate yourself from the thousands that came before you once you get to THAT location?  Why would you want to add to the never ending flow of comp stomps and stigmas that come with landscape photography?  I think the answer to all of these questions is simple and it boils down to one word; innovation.

Innovation is Key

For me innovation is key; it separates you from the masses and allows your photos to rise to the top.  For many of us photography is our escape. our passion and our way to reconnect with ourselves but I admit that it can be quite frustrating at times as well.  As artists we can all hit mental blocks in our creative process and photographic highs and lows.  Something as simple as changing your lens can open up a huge variety of possibilities. Thinking outside the box in regard to shooting, processing and marketing are all key to forming and maintaining a successful business and keeping the creative juices flowing.  With that said it all boils down to one thing; the photos.  They have to resonate with people; you need to make an emotional impact from the first time a potential client sees your work.  Most of all they have to resonate with YOU and make YOU happy.  The minute that photography becomes ‘work’ is the minute that you need to take a step back and really re-evaluate why you started down this journey in the first place.

Winter’s Embrace- Snoqualmie Pass, WA

The field is crowded and it’s only going to get worse as technology improves and more more people purchase their first DSLR.  I don’t look at this as a bad thing necessarily; I look at it as more of a challenge.  I actually enjoy going to overshot locations in hopes of finding some new way to present a well photographed scene.  Take your camera off of the tripod and play with different compositions; move around! Get excited about the scene!  That’s what photography is all about; feeling the energy of the moment and just having fun.  If you’re not passionate about your work it will show in your photos.  Not every photo is going to resonate with everyone but the key is that you pushed yourself outside of your comfort zone and tried something new.

History and Trends

Although many of us complain about the sheer volume of photos available today and how dilute the market has become we have to realize that this has ALWAYS happened in art throughout history.  Think about the various art movements in landscape work throughout history.  In the 1800’s artists like Brandt, Vedel, Monet and Millet all carved their niche in a very popular field of naturalism which eventually gave way to impressionism and artists like VanGogh.  Tens of thousands of paintings flooded the market during that time in an attempt to imitate the style that was sweeping the globe.  The only difference is that they weren’t nearly as visible as they are today thanks to social media and the internet.  Imitation really is a form of flattery; but directly knocking off someone else’s work is really detrimental not only to the photographer but also the field as a whole.

I’ve learned an absolute ton from photographers like my good friend Ryan Dyar.  He carved his niche in the industry by giving his photos a distinct look and feel in his post processing work along with very strong and unique compositions.  Take one look at the crowded field of landscape photography today and you can see just how much his work still resonates with photographers all over the world.  Ryan first introduced me to several different painters who’s work he really learned a great deal from.  One of those painters was Albert Bierstadt from the Hudson River School (along with other artists like Frederic Church).

The Central Cascades, Snoqualmie, WA

The way Albert portrayed light, atmosphere and mood in his paintings directly influences a lot of what I do today in my work and I think that his work indirectly influences a lot of the great photographers in the field today.  His paintings almost had a cinematic quality to them; like something you would see out of the films adapted from Tolkien’s books.  His style (as well as the style of other painters from the Hudson River School) is still very relevant today and whether photographers realize it or not, still has a huge impact on the field.  There are many imitators out there but only you can take the steps necessary to break away from the trends in photography.

Separating yourself from the crowd in post processing and understanding the fundamentals of photography is key.  I’ve discussed this quite a bit in some of my other posts about abstract photography and intimate scenes but it is very, very important.  Developing your own unique style of presenting, editing, and shooting your images is extremely important to personal satisfaction and overall success in the field.

I think all too often we succumb to trends and patterns that we are exposed to on a daily basis thanks to sites like 500px  but it’s our job as photographers to keep things fresh and to keep the creative juices flowing.

Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains by Albert Bierstadt. You can definitely see his influence of light, mood and atmosphere on modern day landscape photography today.

Avoiding the Pitfalls

Into the Unknown- I definitely channeled Marc Adamus’ For Eternity image in the processing of this one. This was taken at sunset and it’s a single shot at 300mm taken from Snoqualmie Ridge. There’s an airfield near by and I was lucky enough to catch one of the planes taking off into the sunset.

The competition that social media can lead to can stunt the personal growth of a photographer in a big way.  I personally don’t look at other photographers as challengers or as the field as a whole as a competition. I think we tend to get so blinded and frustrated by the success of others that we lose focus of our own creative process.  I think that it’s important to let other photographers inspire you! Inspiration is the key to innovation; you absolutely have to let go of jealousy, animosity or anything else that might be harmful to your own personal growth as a photographer.  I think it’s also important for folks that are just entering the field to realize that sometimes criticism and critiques can be a good thing! I’ve been there.  I’ve had my photos torn apart by Marc Adamus who is practically a God among landscape photographers.  It made me feel sick to my stomach at the time but  I can honestly say that it made me a better photographer.  It forced me to grow out of my comfort zone and to develop my own style and presentation of my work.  Don’t let yourself fall into the trends and styles of shooting that have been made popular by mass media.  Develop your own style and you will succeed.  Nothing is easy; I’m still learning and developing as photographer on a daily basis but I think the key is to stay humble and to keep yourself motivated.  Sometimes my shots turn out and sometimes I’m absolutely kicking myself for not going about them in a different way.  It’s part of the creative process and it’s all part of the journey to becoming that photographer that you’ve always aspired to be.

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This is a collection of my favorite images landscape photography images from 2015.  The images you see here were taken in Washington, Oregon and Montana.  It was a great year and I can’t wait to see what next year will bring!

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This was an absolutely amazing trip that had some of the most incredible weather conditions I could ever hope for in a photography trip.  This collection of images comes from a SINGLE day of shooting in the park.  I can’t wait to re-visit this area and hopefully make it to the other side of Logan Pass next summer.

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Landscape photography has morphed its way into more of a popularity contest than an art form.  There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t see an in your face, ‘look at me!’ style of photograph gracing the front page of 500px or any of your favorite social media websites.  For me, my perception of landscape photography has changed a great deal.  Sure, don’t get me wrong I LOVE dramatic skies, epic vistas and jaw dropping presentations of the beautiful world in which we call home, but seeing the same areas, presented in the same ways over and over again drives me absolutely crazy.  I don’t think I’m the only one with that mindset. I think that social media has really been responsible for the demise of subtly.  Mass media photo sharing sites push those colorful square crops to the top in no time because as humans, well we love color.  Our eyes are naturally drawn more to colorful scenes; gorgeous sunsets, fields of flowers and starry night skies. We have a tendency to overlook the little things; nature’s footnotes if you will.

Personally I think that we as photographers can easily shift that ideal and find some middle ground by simply not limiting ones self to what’s popular.  That idea seems simple enough in practice, but developing an eye for subtle scenes and natural abstracts is no easy feet.

Seeing the Trees Through the Forest

I know this typically isn’t the way that this idiom is written, but it is quite intentional.  Often times we get so overwhelmed by the vast landscapes in front of us that we over look the subtleties and intimate details that make the landscapes themselves so unique and breathtaking.  The sum of the parts make the whole.  Sometimes it’s worth looking at just what those parts are comprised of and focusing in on the small details that most of us would otherwise overlook.  Finding the trees through the forest can be problematic from time to time; especially when weather comes into play.  I always try to look for patterns in nature.  If a pattern exists; it’s meant to be seen.  I personally look for objects or lines that really catch my eye and lead me through a scene.  From there I really try to focus on those lines, textures, patterns or objects of interest. Sometimes you have to let the weather and the conditions do the framing for you.

Fog, mist and low clouds can not only add some serious mood and atmosphere to an image but they can also help to frame and add depth to an image as well.  Let the clouds and fog help to guide your decision.  Look for breaks in the fog to emphasize a particular feature that you’re drawn to.  It could be a layered ridge line, a small stand of trees or even a mountain peak.  I think too often we get discouraged by crappy weather and low visibility when we should be looking at it as not only an opportunity but a challenge as well.  I love shooting in questionable conditions.  Some of my most memorable shots and experiences have come from shooting in some really challenging and for me evocative situations.  Don’t ever let less than ideal weather conditions discourage you from breaking out your camera.

Limitation is the Demise of Art

Limiting yourself to a certain style or preferred composition can seriously hinder personal development as a photographer.  I struggled a great deal with this early on.  I remember the first time a stumbled upon 500px and I was blown away by the gorgeous mountains surrounded by in your face wildflowers loaded with color and detail.  Don’t get me wrong.  I LOVE shots like that.  I have several in my portfolio, but sometimes it is nice to take step back from them to look for inspiration in other places.  Compositions don’t always have to blow the viewer away by the sheer ‘wow’ factor.  Subtle is good.  

Corn Lilies are an excellent example of this; there are intricate patterns and beautiful compositions to be found if you take your eyes off of the mountains and look to the slopes below.  Pay attention to the curves and turns in the leaves.  How can you best exemplify them?  When I put this image together I looked for symmetrical features that would make the central lily stand out from the rest of them.

I found several lilies that I really enjoyed but framing them appropriately just didn’t feel right until I stumbled upon the one that you see featured here in this image.  The light was perfect, the symmetry was there and the framing helped to exemplify what I was trying to convey.

Water can be an excellent source of inspiration if you know where to look.  Take a waterfall or a turbulent aqua blue glacier fed river.   Your initial inclination might be to find a way to represent the entire scene in a manner that evokes emotion or captures your eye in a unique way.  I find myself drawn to that mindset as well from time to time but I challenge you to look further into the scene and dissect it.  What section of that river do you find most attractive?  Is there a rock formation that catches your eye?  Does a certain tier in a massive waterfall lead your eye through the scene?  Instead of finding a way to work those features into a vast landscape let them take center stage.  Let those features speak for themselves.  After all there is a reason that your eye found them; they’re unique to the area and really epitomize the beauty of the sum of those parts.

The next challenge that you face is how to best represent the intimate scene you wish to capture.  What settings and shutter speed should you use?  Landscape or portrait?  What crop?  These are all questions that circulate in my mind while I’m out shooting in the field.  For waterfalls and any moving body of water in general I find myself drawn toward methods that enhance water texture and lines.  I look for patterns in the flow of the water; the ying and yang of the currents, the balance of the flow around rocks and the light play on the water itself.  I try to evoke a feeling of being there from that small sampling of that vast gorgeous landscape.

I think capturing a variety of textures in a single exposure can be a very powerful thing.  Smooth lines combined with circulating pools and turbulent rapids frozen in time can add a great deal of depth and layering to an image.  It can really make a photograph come to life.  The shot to the right could have been taken on the coast, in a river, near a glacier etc.  That’s the beauty of abstracts; they can really captivate one’s imagination.

Capturing abstracts of waterfalls can be fairly tricky; especially when the water flow is extremely high.  Looking for features in the rocks surrounding the falls, the vegetation in the area or the various tiers in the falls themselves can offer up a variety of different composition.  Focusing on the falls themselves can be another method to capturing an intimate and more unique scene.  Water texture and framing are the big keys to shooting something of that nature successfully.  How much texture do you want?  Do you want to focus on the water itself, or frame it with a bit of the surrounding terrain?

I recently challenged myself to shoot an abstract of one of the most photographed waterfalls in Washington State.  Snoqualmie Falls. Compositionally speaking the falls are extremely limited.  There are really only three terraces to successfully capture the falls from (including the base) and although conditions can change upon every visit; the composition remains the same.

For this trip I put down the wide angle lens and broke out the telephoto.  This shot is one example of the several that I attempted that evening.

I decided to frame the falls by centering the bottom portion in front of the large cavern that sits directly behind them.  I played with a variety of different shutter speeds but ultimately settled upon the one that provided enough water texture and overall movement to lead the eye through the frame.

Abstract or Abstract?

Intimate scenes like the ones described above can be extremely challenging to shoot.  With that said; what happens when you go into the digital darkroom and discover shear disappointment in your efforts?  Fear not! Not all is lost.  There are creative ways to recover disappointing or lack luster shots to some extent.  Motion blur either in camera or in the digital dark room can be extremely rewarding if done correctly.  It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it can add a lot of creativity to what might be a bland original shot or it can take an amazing shot in a completely different direction.   The panoramic stand of trees that you see here was shot during one of the better years of fall color that we had up here in Washington.

The shot itself lacked a lot of interest so I decided to take a more artistic approach in presenting it.  I utilized motion blur in Photoshop to achieve this effect.  You can achieve this in camera as well by shooting a long exposure shot while slowly tilting your camera up or down to blur the image (hints the title; MOTION blur).  Like I said this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it can be a fun creative exercise and it’s not a bad tool to have in your back pocket when your artistically stalled or just want to get the creative juices flowing a bit.

As I mentioned before ‘limitation is the demise of art’.  Don’t limit yourself to the conventional techniques.  Think outside of the box and don’t be afraid to try new techniques with different compositions that will set you apart from the field.

The post Nature’s Footnotes: The Abstract Side of Landscape Photography appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

The phrase Aloha ʻĀina is close to my heart for many reasons and I think it’s especially true in this day and age. It essentially means “love of the land” and is a central ancient Hawaiian ideology conserved by many native Hawaiians today including members of my family that still reside in the islands. Those two words embody the connection that the Hawaiian people have with the lands in which they live. Respect the land and it will give back so much more. Much aloha everyone and tread lightly!

Panther Creek Falls, WA

Prints: cwexplorationphotography@gmail.com

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If there ever was an ‘oh sh$t’ moment in my photographic career thus far this would have to be it. I left fairly early on a Friday morning in a valiant effort to make it down to Cape Kiwanda to shoot the sunset because the weather was looking prime to either be a complete bust or something really special. We had an offshore low spinning in some really unsettled weather in the form of a few nasty thunderstorms and some heavy rain/sleet/hail showers which made the drive down to Portland a ton of fun to say the least. Once I hit PDX a hopped over to HWY 101 to make a few pit stops on the way down the coast. I finally hit Kiwanda in the late afternoon and managed to get about 45 minutes of sleep in before heading out in the late afternoon light to set up for what I was seriously hoping to be some epic light.

Thunderstorms were everywhere and the rain showers were pummeling the coast as the sun fought through to illuminate the area. I shot a set on the rocks down below the dunes as the tide was still a out a bit and then made the climb to shoot some of the more well known compositions in that area. I shot some moody wave action on the cliffs for a bit before turning my attention to one of more well known comps of the Haystack made famous by guys like Dyar and Noriega when all of the sudden BOOM. Thunder cracked over head and rain started coming down. For whatever reason I decided to turn around and check out the cliffs directly behind me and they were absolutely going off. The sun had dropped right below the thunderhead and soaked the cliffs in warm ominous light. I scrambled down the slick clay (be forewarned it’s slick as hell especially when wet) shot over to the other side of the bluff and set up shop praying to the photography gods that I could get off a few clean shots. The light lasted maybe 5 minutes before being swallowed up by the incoming weather. It was definitely something I will never forget and it was one hell of a way to start my trip down the coast.

Photo Specs:

Sony a7r

16mm, ISO 50, f/13, 1/3sec, two exposures blended by hand in CS6 followed by utilizing luminosity masks and various editing techniques

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