Free RAW Photo: Big Sur Lightstation

The free RAW photo is from my trip when I drove across National Parks in all four southwest states: Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

I took the photo with my Sony a6000 camera and Sony 16-70mm f/4.

Exif Data:

  • Camera: Sony a6000
  • Lens: Sony 16-70mm f/4
  • Aperture: f/8
  • Shutter Speed: 1/400s
  • ISO: 100
  • Focal length: 53mm (35mm full-frame equivalent)

The spot is one of my favorite locations along California State Route 1. In the bottom left corner of the image, you can see the Little Sur River Beach and, at a distance, the Point Sur Lightstation.

Free RAW Photo: Big Sur Lightstation 1

Free RAW Photos for Editing Library

Point Sur Lightstation is located in the Los Padres National Forest near the town of Big Sur. This historic landmark, originally built in 1868, was California’s tallest lighthouse and its first fog signal station. In 1989 it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

I prefer to visit Route 1 between the towns of Big Sur and Carmel in predawn hours. When the sun is setting in the ocean, you can always get some fantastic shots. But this time, I drove along with the Big Sure coastal dive early in the morning. The rising sun was sill hidden behind the mountains and did not have the opportunity to burn off the morning fog.

The seascape looked colorless with no contrast. But we can bring it back to life in Lightroom in no time.

Here are the steps you need to take when editing the free RAW photo:

  1. Improve composition by cropping the image.
  2. You need to boost the contrast. And since the fog made the capture soft, you need to use different tools to address the contrast.
  3. You need to boost the colors as well.
  4. You need to clean it because I did not clean the lens before taking the shot, and the area of the sky has some unwanted spots.

Good luck with editing.

My RAW Editing Version

And here is my editing version of the free RAW image. You can access all my editing steps from the Snapshot panel of the Develop module in Lightroom.

Free RAW Photo: Big Sur Lightstation 2

What About Copyright?

All free raw images I share, I took myself, and they belong to me. They are not sourced from the public. But they are still copyrighted. 

You are free to edit my RAW photos. And if you want to share them on your blog or social media, go for it; all I am asking is to credit me with the link to my site. And you can not use them commercially.

Free RAW Photos Library

Please remember to download my free Lightroom develop presets for faster raw editing.