Morro Bay Dunes at Sunset (California)

I keep working on developing my new Lightroom Collection: Black & White Presets for Landscapes. And I keep experimenting with the different type of images.

I took the featured photo at Morro Bay Creek Beach at sunset. I visited Morro Bay on may occasions and always enjoy photographing the famous Morro Rock. But, it was the first time I was at Morro Bay at sunset. I specifically book the motel in the vicinity so I could take advantage of the sunset and the sunrise.

The sunset did not disappoint, except it was so windy that by the end of the shoot I had sand everywhere, including my camera bag, every pocket of my clothes and my eyes. I did not complain.

Shooting

It was getting dark and the shutter speed became dangerously slow for hand-held shooting. I used a tripod and I had to apply my body weight to it making sure it was stable and it did not fly away with the wind.

I used a tripod and took 3 bracketed shots.

• Camera: Sony a6000
• Lens: Sony-16-70
• Focal Length: 16mm
• Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority (A)
• ISO: 125
• Aperture: F16
• Shutter: 1/20s
• Bracketing: 3 (-1, 0, 1)
• Tripod: FEISOL Tournament CT-3442  – Check my FEISOL Tournament CT-3442 Review.
• Ballhead: FEISOL CB-40D

Processing

My new Black & White Lightroom Preset Collection for Landscape coming along really well. I even have the preset named after this photo – the Morro Bay.

It was a single RAW file editing.

I used the Morro Bay preset, which has some hints of colors (yellow and blue) except black and white,  from my Black & White Landscape Collection first and after I used TOOLKIT to boost colors and contrast.

The Lightroom Preset Editing Formula: Morro Bay (14, 17,22, 23, 32)

I also created a color version of the same photo using Warm Day preset from the Cityscape Collection.

Photoshop: contrast, cleaning. I used the Stamp Tool to remove the debris from the dunes in the foreground.

Photoshop Plugins: 

• Topaz DeNoise was used to reduce digital noise (sky mostly).
• Topaz Clarity was used to enhance details and boost colors (boat, logs).