Picture: Crashing wave at sunset, Bean Hollow State Beach, San Mateo County, California coast.
Here’s another image that I posted over at NaturePhotographers.net. Taken a number of years ago, this is one of those images where previsualization played a strong role in my getting the shot.
Bean Hollow State Beach is about 50 minutes south of San Francisco along Highway One. One of the nice natural features is a rocky ledge that runs along the water. At high tide, and with a little wind, you can see wave after wave breaking on these rocks. With each wave, there would be a huge curtain of spray. However, with almost mythic qualities, you can get the waves to stop breaking. Just…
… point a camera at the spot you want to catch a wave, and like magic they stop. That’s exactly what happened here. With the sun going down, the winds became calm, and suddenly there were no more waves breaking. I had my heart set on getting an image of a wave at sunset, so I waited…and waited…and waited. With the sun sinking, I finally got lucky with a set of waves that finally broke on the rocks with enough force to create the effect I’d been hoping for.
Click to see more images of the San Mateo / Santa Cruz coast.
