Spring Lupine at McWay Falls

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 25 March 2009 in Landscape & Rural.

I never tire of Big Sur's McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. In my recently concluded Big Sur Workshop, we spent the first evening photographing this magnificent cove. Most of the students spotted this cone lupine bush and tired to use it as a foreground element. The problem was, we were on a wooden walkway that is cut into the hillside. Upright posts blocked access to the lupine bush and turned us all into contortionists as we twisted and turned to move our cameras and bodies into position.

Not being able to put my eye to my camera's eyepiece, I decided to use Live View and the zoom feature to compose my image. Once I had my basic composition, I zoomed in on the foreground to make sure it was razor sharp. I was at f/16 and with a very wide angle 16mm-35mm zoom, was confident that the focus would hold all the way to the falls.

Once I made my global corrections in Adobe Camera Raw, I opened the image into Photoshop CS4 and used Nik Viveza software to bring out the color and balance the exposure. And yes, the color of the water in the cove is really turquoise due to the absence of kelp. To learn more about this awesome software, please visit their website at http://www.niksoftware.com.

My Website: "how to" articles, galleries, stock photos, and more...
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Comments (12)

Ivan Makarov from San Jose, United States

Don -

Wow - terrific foreground choice. It's amazing that you made such a different image using it from the spot where the same photograph gets taken 1,000 times every day by 1,000 different people.

I have Live View on my D300, but have never made an image with it. This write up opens up new possibilities I need to explore more.

Also, I published my first PDF on my new web-site. Drop by when you get a second.

25 Mar 2009 6:39am

@Ivan Makarov: Hey Ivan, glad to hear from you - I will definitely check out your PDF! I have only used live view a handful of times, and generally in situations like this where I cannot physically get my eye to the viewfinder (it came in handy this year at Death Valley's Devil's Golf Course). Not sure if you are aware, but the hillside above the walkway used to be filled with similar cone lupine bushes; unfortunately, ambitious photographers and tourist proceeded to trample and kill all of the plants. Restoration is now in progress but it could take years

P J W Miller from Chase Terrace, United Kingdom

A plethora of colour in this composition

25 Mar 2009 8:40am

@P J W Miller: Hi PJW, Big Sur is alive with color - especially late winter / early spring. It is an amazing place!

Judy from Brooksville, Florida, United States

Magnificent work, Don, and a very different variety of Lupine than we see in the area of the northeast.

25 Mar 2009 11:07am

@Judy: Hi Judy, I really only spot this bush lupine along the coast. Thanks for your post.

Marion from Cincinnati, United States

Don, a superb shot! worth all the contortions - I would say! However, I wished someone would have taken a shot of all you photographers trying to get the angle right; that would have been a hoot! Maybe the next time you can do that just for fun ;) ...if I had been in your group, I know that I would have done that!

25 Mar 2009 12:10pm

@Marion: Hi Marion, I was getting a kick out of watching everyone try to figure out a way to make an image. I believe most in the group got a usable image - one participant even went back on his own the last evening to try it again. Unfortunately, I did not hit on the Live View idea until I tried it myself - thus I failed suggest the idea. With the new technology available to all of us, it takes time to realistically figure out how to use it - in this instance it worked! I will file this one away in the memory banks for similar situations.

Scott Schilling from San Martin, United States

Don I love the soft light and tones in this. the sky has nice details also. Beautiful shot and processing. The foreground adds a new dimension to this shot. I will see you tommorrow!

25 Mar 2009 1:55pm

@Scott Schilling: Thanks Scott. You are probably tired of hearing me say: "the more layers in a photo..." I will meet with you tomorrow at the usual place. Don't rush getting there - the light should hold.

john4jack from Corvallis, United States

Wow, Don! The lupine provide a stunning foreground. The light on the rocks is just exquisite! Fabulous composition. About the water, people who don't spend time along the West Coast don't realize the extraordinary colors that different light creates on water, rocks, sky, the whole shebang. The seem to think that we apply HDR magic to everything. (I use all of Nik's plug-ins, but Viveza probably less than the others. I can't imagine B&W conversion any more without Silver Efex Pro.)

25 Mar 2009 2:47pm

@john4jack: I agree Jack. I absolutely love the Nik products, and they are so simple to use.

Lindsay from North Carolina, United States

wow Don another awesome shot! I checked out your website and I am going to have to see what I can do about the Big Sur...that would be an awesome workshop.

25 Mar 2009 4:39pm

@Lindsay: Hi Lindsay. Thanks - Big Sur is an awesome spot regardless of the time of year. The late August workshop is already starting to fill, but I do have openings. All the information is on my website and a $250 deposit guarantees your spot. Send me an e-mail and I will send out my PDF information sheet.

Helma from Tehran, Iran

Beautiful vista and nice foreground !!!
awesome shot ..

25 Mar 2009 6:30pm

@Helma: Thanks Helma, if you ever get a chance to visit the US - put Big Sur on your list!

Jen from St. George, United States

Don - I love this photo. All the different colors work so well together. And the composition is so pleasing, as always. I think my favorite element is the large flower/lupine in the front that draws our eyes directly to the silver thread of the falls. Not bad composition for a contortionist! :)

25 Mar 2009 9:21pm

@Jen: Yeah I'm getting a little too old to be bent in all those directions. Getting the falls properly placed was tedious as well as a level horizon. I accomplished the first in-camera, but the second needed a bit of help with the ARC straighten tool. Gotta love digital!

Tracy from La Selva Beach, United States

Wonderful! I love seeing a different view of this amazing place. I have also tried to contort myself to get the lupine in the foreground- but did not have good success...This turned out Beautifully.

26 Mar 2009 12:25am

@Tracy: Good morning Tracy, perhaps the fact that the lupine bush grows at that particular spot makes it difficult to get a good image. Without the aid of Live View, it would have been virtually impossible to pull the shot off. Thanks for your input. I've been enjoying your blog.

Eleftheria from Athens, Greece

Beautiful light and colors!

26 Mar 2009 11:28am

@Eleftheria: Hi Eleftheria, you have summed up two of my key elements I look for when out shooting. To me, it is all about beautiful light and amazing colors - subject comes third in most of my images. Another way to put this is: a great subject can be boring without great light and great color! I've even written an article about this on my website if you are interested: http://www.lexar.com/dp/tips_lessons/smith_landscapes.html Hope you are having a wonderful day!