In the past few years, I visited Big Sur on many occasions and I consider it one of the most rewarding destinations for any travel photographer.
But somehow, all my encounters with Big Sur happened in the late afternoon and evening hours. Normally, when planning my trips, I start with the scheduling all my sunsets and sunrises first. And since I prefer to arrange my California coastal trips driving from South to North, the Big Sur is always the latest destination of the day.
During my last coastal drive along California State Route 1, I decided to change the pattern. Even though I once again drove from South to North, I decided to visit the Big Sur the first thing in the morning after spending a night in Monterey.
In the morning light, the Point Sur Lightstation looked very different but it was still beautiful and breathtaking.
Loc: 36.326319, -121.894188
Shooting & Processing
The main challenge while shooting around Point Sur Lightstation in Big Sur is that there are not too many spots to choose from. Because all beaches are private, the only place you can set up a tripod is the side of the road. This is the main reason for a limited variety of photos from around Big Sur.
Once again, I set up my tripod on the side of the road and took a series of bracketed shots.
It was a single RAW file editing.
I applied Lightroom preset Point Lobos from my Landscape Collection and after I used TOOLKIT to boost colors and contrast.
The Lightroom Preset Editing Formula: Point Lobos (13, 18, 31, 38)
Deconstructing Featured Photo
- Camera: Sony a6000
- Lens: Sony 16-70mm
- Focal Length: 32mm
- Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority (A)
- ISO: 100
- Aperture: F8
- Shutter: 1/320s
- Bracketing: 3 (-1, 0, 1)
- Tripod: FEISOL Tournament CT-3442
- Ballhead: FEISOL CB-40D
Processing:
Lightroom: import, tagging, Lightroom Rapid Editing – Point Lobos (13, 18, 31, 38).
Photoshop: color correction, contrast, cleaning.
Photoshop Plugins:
- Topaz DeNoise was used to reduce digital noise (sky, water).
- Topaz Clarity was used to enhance details and boost colors (mountains, vegetation).
