Page 1 of 2

Not the Sierra, but I went to Big Sur on Saturday

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:00 pm
by Buck Forester
Image

It was a semi-overcast day on Saturday with an approaching storm, which clouded up the horizon by evening so I didn't get the sunset colors I was hoping for. I spent some time in the redwoods and McWay Fall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. I love it there. I took some shots with both my Canon 20D (shown here) and some Velvia 50 which I haven't taken in yet to get developed. The Velvia usually has much richer colors and since I don't know Photoshop very well, my 20D digital images aren't nearly as colorful. The lighting was flat but hey, anytime is a good time to be there. I didn't take very many pics, I mostly enjoyed the place. I was going to spend the weekend there but I missed my little boy too much so I drove back that night. Man, being the father of a newborn has really changed me, ha ha! I haven't been able to spend the night out yet despite multiple attempts! I keep driving back late at night so I can wake up to his smile. I may try again this weekend, not sure where though.

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 3:41 pm
by Windwalker
I need to visit this place.
Looks pretty colorful to me Buck!
You'll have to post the velvia one too so I can compare :cool:

Enjoy your time with your son Buck...they grow up soooo fast.
Before you know it Gabriel will be old enough to go with you.
Hiking with your son rocks....you just wait and see :D

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:44 pm
by copeg
Very nice Buck. Hopefully I'll be heading to Big Sur one of these weekends. Its a beautiful area.

BTW Congrats on becoming a dad!

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:59 pm
by markskor
Buck,
I second the motion - nice pics!
Also, about that dad thing... it sure changes things.
When he gets a bit older, drop me a line...I got a Tioga Jr backpack...size X-small... which should go out to someone just like you...even throw in the HighSierraTopix "new dad" discount...You just pay shipping. Couldn't think of a better place to send it. My son is 14 now...God, where did the years go?
Mark

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 8:27 pm
by ifernau
I have not been along the Big Sur Coast for a while. McWay Falls are sooo beautiful and you captured them well. The beach as untouched as it can be. We tried to find a way down a few years ago, not a chance, but that's what makes them so fascinating.

On another note, I can understand why you don't want to leave your newborn....they grow up so fast and you don't want to miss anything.

Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:25 am
by madeintahoe
Buck...I have to congratulate you and your wife on your new beautiful baby boy! I had been wondering when the baby was born..Thats so awesome!

This picture is breathtaking! The color of the water, and then those purple flowers. It is just gorgeous
Thank you for sharing :)

Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 2:26 pm
by Buck Forester
Thanks! And thanks for the comments about Gabriel! You can't fathom the love for a son (or daughter) until you have one! I thought I had a pretty good idea, until he was born!

Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 7:41 pm
by SSSdave
That quite a fine composition Buck. Very nice flowers, think you got another keeper. At least in this web image you seem to have gotten enough depth of field without the wind blurring them. On a bright sunny afternoon, sunshine coming off the white sand in the cove tends to make the water color a bit more light aqua. There is quite a decent flow from the little stream that later on can get pretty small. Just saw someone else's image on another site with those big blue cone shaped flowers. I tried to get some time in down there a couple weeks back but it was too windy so I just spent a few hours at Point Lobos then bagged it. Wildflowers ought still be good so I may try again next week if we get a calm enough day. ...David

Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 8:59 pm
by Buck Forester
Thanks, Dave! As you know, the color of McWay Cove is gorgeous but I really don't like the way my Canon 20D picked it up. I much prefer my Velvia 50 images when it comes to the color of this water. If I had any Photoshop skills I could probably find a right match. It was fairly breezy but they came in predictable gusts so I was able to go f18 in between gusts. For some reason f22 on my 20D is not very sharp... I read something somewhere about the small size digi sensors not doing well at high f-stops so I don't like to stop it all the way down.

Regarding these flowers, someone on another forum told me these flowers aren't native, they're from Africa or something. I would've never known. I guess these flowers are illegal immigrants, ha ha! But they were doing the work our domestic flowers weren't willing to do at the time... they were blooming!

As for the tall blue flowers, I saw some of those (and I think I know which forum you spotted that referenced image), trouble is that image was technically illegal because that clump of purple flowers was above the walkway, which required climbing up the sensitive vegetation. I saw the same flowers when I was there, and I'm not one to be Mr. Rules all the time, but in such a popular area it is quite obvious it is an illegal move and if everyone did it, there'd be a path of trampled vegetation on the steep slope. Just to get a nice photo. The place is already pretty enough for plenty of nice compositions without having to go out-of-bounds, IMHO. I did see one other clump of the tall blue flowers (don't know their name, ha ha!) that was on the beach side of the railing but they weren't blooming yet. The flowers in my image are right at the base of the walkway and I had to sit down and put my tripod on its lowest setting to make it work. If the lighting was magic I would prefer the image much more.

Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 11:40 am
by SSSdave
I commend your responsible behavior on staying on the proper side of rails at such popular areas. Same situation occurs up the coast at Point Lobos where we later day photographers can only whine about how those from earlier decades were able to take images from locations below the cabled trails that have long been off limits. Of course there are parks and places where that decision is more a grey area.

Indeed those flowers didn't look like any natives I know, nor are the the large blue spikes, or iceplant that also grow at several areas along the coast where people frequent.

I think the best image at McWay are middle afternoon because any later, one cannot get as good an aqua blue color off the water due to increasing refraction as the sun lowers in the sky that causes the water to just get darker. Best blues are midday though that is also too harsh so one needs to compromise times. Note many days on our coast have relatively heavy marine air that so reduces midday brightness that shooting near midday is not a problem at all.

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=36. ... -121.67167

..David