My journey to the Fujifilm X-T2 wasn’t exactly straight and narrow and it definitely wasn’t conventional by any stretch of the imagination; but 8 weeks into the switch, here I am writing about the whats, the hows and the whys of why I started down this amazing path. 

Let me start by saying that I had honestly never even considered switching back to an APS-C format camera or even to Fujifilm for that matter until a few months ago. The limited technology of the sensors in the APS-C cameras always turned me off for a number of reasons. The main reason being the lack of Dynamic Range, (ability to pull detail from shadows and retain detail in slightly overexposed regions of the image) followed by the lower megapixel count and the noisier high ISO files. I was determined to stick to a full frame system because I wanted more DR, more megapixels and more technology, plain and simple.

So why the change in heart?

My Love-Hate Relationship with Sony

I was in a bit of a weird situation when it came to my photography gear. I had moved on from my trusty Canon 5D Mkii to a Sony a7R with a Metabones Mkiii Adapter and Canon L glass to save weight, increase dynamic range, increase megapixels and to improve the overall Raw file quality. That was all well and good but there were a few things that I started to realize after shooting with that franken-system for a few years:

• The already mediocre weather sealing of the Sony a7R was further compromised by the use of a lens adapter
• Waterfall mist and rain literally caused my camera to shut down on multiple occasions
• Autofocus is useless when pairing Canon lenses with the a7R (this was mostly remedied with the a7R ii, but still limited)
• Shutter shock will ruin your life and no I’m not kidding
• The battery life was atrocious
• The menu layouts could have been better

All in all I loved my system, don’t get me wrong, but it did have some serious shortcomings and they began to become even more evident as I started to work with longer lenses.

Enter shutter-shock. In all honesty the a7R should have never left the manufacturer floor with how bad the shutter-shock issues were… and yes I’m being serious. Whenever I shot with anything longer than, say, 100mm with a longer lens I always had to take at least 10-15 shots to ensure that I had one useable file. Yes you heard that right; 1 in 10 images were useable when using longer lenses on the a7R. That’s unacceptable. That problem alone gave me serious pause and it really made me re-evaluate my equipment.

Let’s face it; time is money. Let’s say you’ve got a 10 second window to capture ‘that’ moment and you fire off as many shots as possible only to find out, upon reviewing your files, that none of them are even useable. That shot could have landed you a cover, could have sold a ton of prints or it just could have meant a ton to you. It could have been something that you had been chasing for a very, very long time and now that moment is gone. 

Additionally, anyone that tells you that Sony doesn’t have a weather sealing issue is either paid by Sony or is the luckiest person on earth when it comes to their gear. When I say that a camera has a problem; it’s not taken lightly and it’s not a brash or off hand comment. The a7R had some serious weather sealing issues. If rain, water fall mist or anything of that nature even so much as blinked at the a7R it would literally shut down. It shut down in hot weather, in extreme cold weather and in any sort of wet or damp environment. The battery life was down right atrocious. I treat my gear like gold, because frankly, I don’t have the money to replace it (yes I have insurance) and if I felt like a situation was too severe for the camera; I just put it away. That shouldn’t be the case when you’re spending $2k plus on a camera. The bottom line is that we should expect better and Sony needs to step it up (supposedly they have with the a9, but that is yet to be seen). 

Not to get too philosophical here; but photography companies owe it to their customers to do better and to improve. We spend a lot of money on equipment and often promote the use of said equipment for free because sponsorships are few and far between. I’m glad to see that many companies are moving in that direction, but it’s been a long time coming. As the market continues to shrink I really do hope that these companies will start actually listening to guys like Rishi over at DPR and folks that aren’t sponsored, but do spend a lot of hard earned money on equipment.

End rant.. sort of.

My Goals for the Switch

Okay time to come down from that pedestal. All in all I was frustrated, and I was in a situation where I had the perfect opportunity to move on and to explore my options in terms of what I really wanted to achieve in photography and what gear I would need to purchase to make those achievements possible.  

I had four major priorities in mind:

1. No more adapted glass
2. Better weather sealing and battery life 
3. Improved autofocus capabilities 
4. Comparable Raw image quality and DR
5. Incredible lens quality and selection

I was looking at three different options. The 5D MK IV, the Sony a7R ii and the Fujifilm X-T2. I had Canon mount glass that I was quite fond of, so I wasn’t too keen on getting rid of it and I still had the a7R and my Metabones adapter.

The a7R ii was definitely a strong second choice, but three things really held me back from making the commitment. The price tag, adapted glass and the weather sealing issues. The a7R ii’s image quality is the best on the market IMO, the only thing that beats it currently with respect to DR is the Nikon D810 at ISO 64. That being said, the thought of using adapted glass made my stomach churn (diminished AF capabilities w/ adapted glass despite all of the AF improvements in the a7R ii) and the weather sealing issues gave me straight up anxiety. There’s no reason that you should have to be worried about using a $3k camera in inclement weather conditions.  

The Canon 5D MK IV was something that I did consider for a while, but again the price tag and the fact that it didn’t perform quite as well as the a7R ii for almost $1,000 more really put me off. The DR in the 5D MK IV is definitely improved, but if I’m spending that kind of money I would just assume by the a7R ii. The AF performance with the Dual Pixel technology is definitely a huge leap forward for Canon.

With all of that in mind; why Fujifilm?

My Journey to Fujifilm

So, with out the way let’s move on to why I ultimately decided to go with the X-T2. Fujifilm wasn’t always on my radar, but after working at DPreview for a little over a year I got to experience the X-T2 with my own two hands and I fell in love with it. The simplicity of the twin dials, the relatively intuitive menu system and the quality of the lenses immediately captured my attention, but what about the files and the DR? After all that’s just about the only thing that folks in the landscape field care about, right?

Have a look at this DR chart from Bill Claff:

Convinced yet? Yes, yes I know the X-T2 still falls behind the 5D MK IV and the a7R ii, but keep in mind that you’re looking at an APS-C sensor versus two full-frame sensors. That’s downright impressive. I’ve been able to pull 2-3 stops of shadow recovery from my files with no banding or loss of color and detail. Do you really need more than 3 stops of DR? If you know the limitations of your system, you can learn to work within it. If that means firing off an extra exposure in super dark conditions , then so be it. It’s not that big of a deal. Too often folks get so bogged down by the technology that they forget the basics of photography… if you know your camera you can adapt it to any scene; no matter how much DR is present. 

As you can see, the DR is more than acceptable, but what about the overall Raw image quality? The Uncompressed Raw files are impressive if you know how to deal with them. The X-Trans platform makes post processing a bit of a challenge. There have been several articles discussing worm like issues in trees and foliage thanks to some compatibility issues with the Adobe sharpening algorithms and these Raw files. 

Fear not! There is a solution! David Kingham was kind enough to let me know about an amazing DNG conversion tool by Iridient. This X-Transformer adds one extra step to my post processing workflow, but it’s so worth the effort! You can try the converter for free to take it for a spin before you decide to purchase it (trust me you’ll want to purchase a license). The files will display a watermark, but you’ll get an idea of how the converter performs. Here are the settings that I currently use: 

Using these settings will enable you to bring these DNG files into Photoshop to process them further. To get the most out of the files use Unsharp masks and High Pass masks for sharpening. Don’t use the sharpening sliders in ACR or Lightroom on these files, they still present some nasty problems… cue Adobe to get that fixed!

All in all the Uncompressed Raw files give you plenty of latitude to play with! 

Lenses, AF and Weather Sealing

So the files look good, but what about everything else? Let’s start with the lenses. The quality of the Fujifilm glass is downright legendary. They have a nearly full line up of weather sealed XF WR lenses. The only lens that they are currently missing in my opinion is the 8-16mm F2.8 XF WR that will supposedly be released in late 2017. 

I currently own the 23mm F2 XF WR, the 100-400mm F4-5.6 XF WR and the 10-24mm F4 XF. All of these lenses are bonkers sharp (keep in mind that the equivalent focal lengths are 35mm, 152-609mm and 15-36mm, respectively). The sunstars that both the 23mm and the 10-24mm produce are exceptional, and that’s something that I don’t take lightly considering that I’m coming from the legendary Canon 16-35mm F2.8L Mkii sunstars. 

I used the Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens extensively (I took nearly 1500 images with it) while on my trip to Alaska and I can tell you that the lens is extremely sharp throughout the entire focal range, even when shot wide open. To say that I was impressed by these lenses is an understatement. The quality construction, the weather sealing, the smaller size and the inconspicuous appearance make them a force to be reckoned with and I’m honestly surprised that they aren’t talked about more. I realize that the X-Trans platform makes them difficult to test for companies like DxO, but it’s high time that these lenses start getting the praise that they deserve.

How about the AF? The AF has been improved a great deal over the X-T1 and offers an impressive 325 points, with improved subject tracking. Honestly it’s great for wildlife in nearly every use case and it works extremely well for locking focus on stationary subjects such as landscapes. Check out a more in depth analysis here. 

But is it weather sealed?? The X-T2 sports more robust weather sealing than the a7R ii, but not quite as robust as the Pentax K1 or the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk ii. I haven’t had any issues with the camera to date, and I don’t expect to since I’ll be using the native weather sealed lenses along with the weather sealed body. The camera is rated to work in temps as low as -10 degrees C. I haven’t been able to put that claim to the test yet, but I plan to this winter. Rain, waterfalls and snow don’t scare me with this camera in hand.

Did I mention that I only have to carry 3 batteries with me at all times instead of the 6 that I carried with me when I shot Sony? Cue my happy dance.

Final Thoughts

Part of the appeal for switching to Fujifilm for me was to make photography fun again. The control layout, the overall feel and the look of the camera harken back to the film era to some degree and that sense of nostalgia coupled with modern technology just tugs at my heart strings. The camera not only does what I need to do, but it also allows me to have fun doing it!

Fujifilm may not be for everyone, but I don’t think that you need to let the term APS-C or that 24mp number scare you off. The camera is more than capable of capturing every scene you can imagine; you just have to, as in any system, understand its limitations and learn to work within them. After all, a camera is only as good as the photographer behind it.

Updates

Well, it’s been nearly 8 months in and I’m still very happy with my decision to switch. Since writing the original post, I picked up the 35mm F2 XF WR lens (which is amazing to say the least) and I’m planning to add the 16-55mm F2.8 XF WR and the 8-16mm F2.8 XF WR (when it finally comes out) to my collection as well. Enough GAS; how’s the camera holding up? I’ve used the camera in rain, sleet and snow and I haven’t had ANY issues with the weather sealing to date. The lenses and the camera body have both held up impeccably in adverse weather conditions.

The battery life in cold weather seems to be markedly better than the a7R as well. I only carry three batteries with me at all times, as opposed to the 6 or 7 I would have to carry with the a7R. As a whole, I’m loving the menu layouts and the control dials more and more. It’s extremely easy to make changes on fly and I’ve found that the exposure metering tends to be very accurate. The firmware updates that are released on what seems to be a continual basis keep improving upon the camera’s already amazing features. I’ve noticed improvements across the board with the updates so far.

The AF works very well. Once in a while you can miss focus (especially with the 100-400mm lens). It happens, but for the most part the AF is very accurate and a lot of the error falls back on the user (me). It’s been a bit of a learning curve, but I find myself nailing focus more often than not. The majority of the time I find myself using single point and recomposing if need be. Later this month I’ll be shooting some wildlife (owls) and I plan to write a blog post on how the camera performs. Yes I know that birds shouldn’t be that difficult to nail focus on, but owls tend to hide out in wooded areas and tall grass, so it should present a nice challenge. 

As far as post processing goes I’m still using the Iridient Converter and I haven’t run into a file that I can’t work with yet in terms of DR. I have yet to find myself in a situation where I’ve needed to blend exposures to recover shadows and/or highlights. I’m planning to migrate to the creative cloud at some point, so it will be interesting to see how ACR handles the RAF files. From what I’ve heard, the Iridient Converter still works better than trying to work with a RAF file in ACR. In terms of high ISOs; I haven’t pushed the camera a ton, but the files up to an ISO of 3200 are very useable and I don’t foresee myself ever needing to go beyond that. 

So what’s on the horizon? I don’t ever foresee myself leaving Fujifilm. I may eventually purchase the medium format GFX 50S (or whatever the next iteration will be), but for now I am very happy with my purchase and moreover I’m happy sticking with Fuji. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where this journey takes me next, so stay tuned!

The post Why I Switched From Full-Frame to the Fujifilm X-T2 appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

[See image gallery at cwexplorationphotography.com]

This is a story from our trip out to the Kalapana G61 ocean entry near Pahoa, Hawai’i. My wife and I ventured to the Big Island for our honeymoon and it was a trip that neither of us will ever forget!

First off I have to send out a huge mahalo to bruddah Bruce from Extreme Exposures, because without him this image wouldn’t have been possible. If you’re ever on the big island definitely look up Bruce and Tom- two of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. I also have to thank my amazing wife Kelcee for putting up with my shenanigans and getting up at 12:30am to go shoot lava. She was a trooper!

There’s a story that goes with this one and it’s a bit of a doozy. Ever since I was a kid my dad always told me stories about things that my grandfather had seen when he was growing up in the islands- everything from menehunes to the occasional spirit. I was hesitant to believe a lot of that stuff, but I had never gotten to truly experience anything quite like that first hand. This trip changed that.

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Developing an eye for composition in landscape photography is something that takes a great deal of time and practice in the field.  Sure, some folks don’t have to work as hard but you’ve got to put the hours in behind the lens to really gain a solid understanding of what elements make for a strong composition.  I can’t tell you how many times early in my career I completely botched a composition or just missed the mark all together.  One thing that I’ve learned over time is that you absolutely have to pre-visualize your shot.  How do you want to process it?  What elements do you want in the scene?  Where are your foreground elements? Leading lines? Focal point? What direction is the light entering your frame?  Does it work?  Does your composition look balanced? Do you have complementary colors throughout the image?  Is there symmetry or are there patterns present? Is the image interesting?  These are all questions that constantly fill my head when I’m in the field.  Now the question I’m sure you’re asking is “How in the world do I do that when everything is changing, the conditions are deteriorating and the good light is slowly burning out??”

I know it sounds complicated but I promise you; it’s not nearly as bad as it seems.  Pre visualizing the shot starts with four key elements – the direction of the light, the focal point, the foreground and the leading line(s). The focal point is often the first thing that your eye gravitates toward.  It could be a waterfall, a mountain or even a stand of trees.  If your eye gravitates toward it chances are it may serve as a good focal point to build your composition around.  The next step in the process is to look for a leading line that guides your eye through the scene to your focal point.

The ‘line’ is figurative of course.  It can be a rock formation, a river, a series of interesting trees, vegetation or foliage, flowers, or even a trail.  Choosing the correct leading line can have a large impact on your image.  It is important to note though that the leading line may not work depending upon the direction of the light in the scene.  All of the elements need to work together to form a pleasing composition. Let the light guide your eye to the focal point in the image.  Shadows and light play a huge role in guiding your eye through the scene and, when used correctly, can add a great deal of depth and interest to your photo.  Choosing the correct foreground (FG) can have a large impact on the success of your image.  I always try to choose a FG that offers a complementary color palette to the other elements in the scene such as the sky or mountains. Ted Gore published an excellent article on color theory so I won’t get too far into it here.  It’s safe to say that utilizing color theory correctly can really have a profound effect on the outcome of your image.

Texture and Layers

Texture is not something that’s often discussed in composition but I think that it’s crucially important to strengthening your composition.  Water texture is a solid example of this.  In some cases, soft water texture will work extremely well to give an image full of elements with an abundance of harsh textures such as rock and sand a more dynamic and ying/yang feel.  Texture can also convey a nice sense of movement as well.  Taking a shorter exposure of water for instance can add a great deal of movement to the scene. Balancing texture can be tricky but very useful.  I personally like to include elements that offer a variety of textures that work well together.  For instance; if you’ve got a series of jagged mountain peaks with clouds that lack interest try using a long exposure to convey movement and add a soft blurred look in the sky to contrast the sheer rock and ice. 

Utilize vegetation such as ferns, flowers or trees to add a contrast in texture to elements such as smooth rock, sand, fog or snow.  One of the reasons that foggy tree shots tend to work so well is the play on not only contrast but textures as well.  The jagged trees jutting out through the smooth rolling clouds and fog add a ton of interest to the image.  Texture can also be useful in setting up leading lines in a photograph. It can add depth, help with framing and ultimately solidify an already strong composition. Pay attention to the textures that are in the vicinity of where you’re shooting.  Look for ways to bring them into the scene to add balance and interest. The addition of texture, if used correctly, can draw your viewers into your image and ultimately help to shape the overall delivery of your work.

Layering on the other hand is a very popular theme in landscape photography- composing an image to bring layers and depth into the frame can add a lot of interest to your photo and can make it stand out from the crowd. I always try to add a bit of layering in my composition- even clouds and fog can add depth and interest. One way to go about doing this is to shoot in portrait mode. Shooting in portrait mode can compress the composition and can add depth by compressing the foreground, middle ground and background into ‘layers’. The other way to do this is to use longer lenses and telephoto work can often compress the scene and achieve some of the same things goals mentioned above.

Go wide or go home, right?

In truth this is a very loaded discussion, but if you’ve been paying attention to trends in landscape photography you will have seen a slight shift toward subtle, intimate and sometimes abstract scenes shot at longer focal lengths.  Shooting landscape images with long lenses (focal lengths that range anywhere between 70-400mm+) can be very challenging but a lot of the same aspects of shooting grand scenes can still be applied in many ways. Layering, light, leading lines, patterns, color profiles and a focal point all play a huge part in making a smaller scene seem grand and inviting.  Balancing these elements can be tricky given the constraints that a longer focal length can impose but the rewards can be plentiful!

When shooting scenes such as this, one of the first things I look for is depth followed by layering, framing and light.  If you see a focal point or a subject that looks amazing but lacks a solid foreground or is minimized a great deal by a wide angle lens, then you may want to switch things up and go for a longer focal length.  Zooming in on your subject can dramatically change the way the scene looks i.e. the presentation of light and contrast, the depth and the overall feeling that the image may convey.  Shooting longer focal lengths can also take a well known scene and transform it into something that almost renders it unrecognizable even to frequent visitors.

In the field I often mount the telephoto lens/camera combo on my tripod and pan throughout the scene using your viewfinder as a guide.  If you see something that really captures your eye or that you find yourself going back to snag an image of it! Don’t be afraid to experiment; play with the different focal lengths available to you.  Zoom in and out on a subject to see what looks best.  Take multiple images of the same subject at different focal lengths; you may find that one works overwhelmingly better when you begin your editing process and trust me you will kick yourself if you don’t have options to look at.

Information Overload

Personally, I think that one of the biggest issues that landscape photographers face in the field is information overload.  I think it’s happened to everyone at some point in their photographic careers.  It’s the point when you arrive at a location that you didn’t have time to scout, the light is going off and you’re completely overwhelmed.  You know you’ve got to nail down a strong composition in a short amount of time but where to do you even start? No pressure at all, right?  First things first; breathe! Take a deep breath and take in the scene.  Where’s the light coming from?  What focal point does your eye focus on?

Break down the scene and put it back together; does it have nice flow?  Does the sum of the parts contribute to the whole?  Don’t get fixated on one solid composition.  Look for alternatives. Take your camera off of the tripod and look through the viewfinder or use live-view.  Move around and get a quick feel for the different options that the scene may provide.  When I’m trying to determine how to put my composition together I look for depth, layering, curves and strong points of interest to guide my eye through the frame.  Remember that there are no rules in art, as in photography.  Placing constraints around your style and vision will only serve to hinder your personal development as a photographer and an artist.

Final Thoughts on Composition

In the end you are the artist and the photographer.  Be inspired by others but also develop your own unique style and eye for composition.  Imitation is a form of flattery but at what cost to your own creative process?  We are bombarded with inspirational content on what seems to be a weekly if not daily basis.  Learn from the images you see but don’t limit yourself to their constraints.  Find your own voice in composition and you will succeed.

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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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A few months back Max Foster (from TheWorldExplored Photography) reached out to me through 500px after we had been following each others work for a few months.  He asked if I would be up for a waterfall hunting trip down in the Columbia River Gorge in a few months time and you know I couldn’t turn that down.  We started making a list of possible waterfalls to visit and began planning for the trip almost immediately hoping that the conditions would be prime to shoot the many gorgeous waterfalls that grace the small strip of land between Oregon and Washington.

The first waterfall that we both had on our bucket list was the Mossy Grotto.  I first saw an image of this area taken by my buddy Ryan Dyar and I knew that I had to eventually see the area for myself.  Max and I got up at 5am and hit the trail by 6am after a couple of rounds of coffee (neither of us can function without it haha).  We had slept in our respective vehicles the night before which made getting up that much more fun but you gotta do what ya gotta do to get the goods! We left the Eagle Creek parking lot and headed up toward Ruckel Creek to hit the trail.  The trail was moderately steep almost right away and my body was not happy about it at 6am.  That thing was a thigh burner!  Once we hit Indian Pits we dropped down the rocky slope and descended into the lush greenery of the valley below.  When I say lush greenery what I really mean is Poison Oak and ticks because yeah there were enough to go around for everyone in the area.  Key tip: wear long sleeves and layers!! Okay back to the hike.  We descended into the valley and followed the creek below for a fair distance before rounding the corner and stumbling upon one of the most unique and gorgeous waterfalls I had ever seen.  The Mossy Grotto had definitely lived up its name.  We both began scouting for comps almost immediately.  Here’s a behind the scenes shot from the Grotto:

This is Max in what we have since dubbed the #powerstance for photographers haha.  He’s nailing some long exposure reflection shots of the Grotto.  One thing I will say is that I honestly couldn’t believe the amount of visibly new trails, stripped moss and disrepair in the area. We take photos of these areas because we think they are absolutely beautiful and convey an emotion and a very strong connection with the land and to show others the beauty that may not be able to see in person. The other side to that message is that our photos often draw hundreds of people to these areas who may not fully understand just how fragile the land is. I think it’s very important for anyone that visits to realize that these places have a finite lifespan given the amount of traffic they receive and if we want future generations to enjoy these areas we need to do our part to tread lightly, educate the public as much as possible and respect the lands.  The more we respect the land, the more it will give back to us!  Tread lightly and happy shooting everyone!

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So Rialto Beach and I have quite the history and I should have known that making the trip back there could only have ended poorly. I started the trip out there at around 11am and I was hoping to make it down to the haystacks by around 4:30pm for the sunset. I rolled into the parking lot at around 10 till 4pm. Not good. I checked the tide and the high tide coincided with the sunset. Double not good. To say that getting down to the stacks during high tide was difficult would be an understatement. Most of the trip involved scrambling over massive piles of driftwood while dodging waves and hauling some serious ass down the beach. I ended up missing the majority of the good light but managed to snag some moody twilight shots as the stars started to come out.

I got all of my gear packed up and turned around to head down the beach when BOOM I got nailed by two consecutive sleeper waves from behind. Luckily my camera gear stayed dry but I was completely SOAKED. Water filled my boots and the extra layers I had on absorbed the water like a sponge. Awesome. So then I had to try to figure out a game plan for getting back since I really didn’t want to have to scramble over the driftwood in the dark even with a headlamp.

I decided that I was already wet so why not cut my loses and stick to the beach. I played dodge the wave for a good part of the time until I had to make the river crossing. Doing that crossing in the daylight is a cake walk. Doing it at night in soaking wet boots and clothes is a different story. Let’s just say that it probably looked like a scene right out of Jackass when I slipped and fell placing the log squarely between you guessed it. Good times!! At that point I just had to laugh. I mean what the hell else was I supposed to do ha! I finally made it back to the Jeep and made the executive decision to skip camping out in Mora and head to Forks. That hotel room bed never felt so damn good!

Rialto Beach, La Push, WA

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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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