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| © Ian Frazier |
| Click photo to see more of Ian Frazier's Big Sur images. |
The 90-mile stretch of rocky cliffs and breaking surf known as Big Sur, located between Los Angeles and San Francisco, unveils itself gradually along the twisting curves of Highway 1. One only needs to stand along the road's edge to be reborn among the rugged and desolate beauty of the region. Unfortunately, the jagged coastlines of Big Sur also pose unique photographic challenges. During my two-day visit I grappled with a thick fog that broke only during the harsh light of midday. I was forced to change my approach and my style of photography.
The old advice for shooting landscapes: shoot in the late evening and early morning when the light is soft and beautiful, works well in ideal situations. Pictures seem to take on a luminous quality during these periods, with the "magic hour" often starting before the sun has even risen, and in the evening, ending a half hour after it's set. These are prime times to shoot, the light is directional, yet still soft and pleasing, and even the colors are more saturated, with warms hues bathing everything. I had gone to Big Sur with these images in mind but unfortunately, the thick fog made those shots nearly impossible.
See the Image Gallery for technical information on these shots and more photos from Ian's trips to Big Sur.
Related: Ian Frazier's Pacific Beach Photo Gallery.
To see more of Ian Frazier's work check out his website iansfrazier.com.
Mid-day and the Beach
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| © Ian Frazier |
| Click photo for larger image. |
This photograph was taken at Pfeiffer Beach, one of the few beautiful stony beaches that is relatively easy to get to and has some interesting rock formations. I usually avoid taking midday photos, but after a frustrating morning I was desperate to shoot anything. The problem with shooting at noon on a clear day is that the light is harsh and white. Colors will often seem washed out, shadows turn to black, and whites are easily blown.
What drew me to this area wasn't the light, it was the character of the beach. The way that the boulders in the foreground carried my eyes into the picture while providing a natural frame for the beach was the main consideration when framing this photograph. I also liked the soothing earth tones and bright sky lending a happy light feeling to the image. The few wispy clouds completed the idea that this was a nice day on a nice beach.
How I got this shot:
1. I selected a small aperture (f/20) in order to keep the whole scene in focus. Initially, I focused on the closest rocks, I then adjusted the point of focus to be slightly past the closest thing I wanted in focus. By doing this I maximized the depth of field (or the area that would appear sharp) in the image.
2. I used a circular polarizer to help tame the glare bouncing off of the wet rocks, and saturate the colors. Because I was using such a wide lens (17-40 on full frame) I chose a thin polarizer which lowered the chance of vignetting, and I rotated the filter until I cut the glare without over-polarizing the sky and turning it an unnatural blue. The polarizer also helped to bring the clouds out and decreased the detail robbing reflections of the water.
3. I shot at 1/30 sec, knowing that the meter would account for the loss of light (around 1 stop) caused by the polarizer. Without a meter, the sunny 16 rule (at f/16 the shutter speed is around 1/the ISO) would have worked equally as well, and a little mental gymnastic proved this.
Where to position the sky was important, and for this photo the interest lay in the rocky foreground not the bland sky. By putting the horizon near the top third, I allowed the viewer's eyes more room to travel, and avoided the usual boredom of a centered image. This is a rare image where I think the harsh light and contrast shadows worked well, emphasizing the rocky subject of Big Sur's coast.
Seeing the Forest from the Trees
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| © Ian Frazier |
| Click photo for larger image. |
Careful planning will only take you so far, sometimes the weather has other ideas. I had originally gone to Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park with the idea of shooting its tranquil cove at daybreak. Instead I got thick fog. Luckily, I also got this picture.
This photograph happened because I was in the right place at the right time. The sun had just crested the hills behind me, and for a few brief minutes, its light shone magically through the morning mist. The eerie light lit the path in front of me, and I knew I had to shoot fast.
How I got this shot:
1. Framing this photo was difficult. I knew that the backlit fog and trees would be my main subject, but worried that it would lack context if taken as a vertical picture, and I didn't want the glowing light to overwhelm the image. Instead, I used a wide 24mm focal length to bring the glowing light, the lit path, and misty fog into the frame. By doing this, I was able to use the light tones of the unlit fog in the right hand corner to balance image, and further emphasize the mystical quality of the light. A wider angle also let me use the nearby tree branches as a natural frame, keeping the viewer in the picture.
2. Metering was also a challenge. Strong bright areas can often fool a meter, causing important subject detail to be underexposed. In this case I knew that the dark foreground and the lighted mist would balance out, and matrix or patterned metering worked well. Had the bright areas been larger I would have instead spot metered the nearby tree trunk, knowing that I wanted that to be my mid-toned value. Luckily, technology sometimes makes things easier, and as a double check, I examined the camera's LCD to make sure that the image was properly exposed and I had reached the best compromise between the shadows and highlights.
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