Wave of Fog Over Santa Lucia's

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 4 April 2009 in Landscape & Rural.

Recently I returned to the Big Sur area in hopes of photographing Pfeiffer Falls; however, due to last summer's massive Basin-Complex fire, the trails were closed. As with my last post, I did not come away empty-handed.

Due to the area's warming weather, fog developed over the peaks of the Santa Lucia Range providing Scott Schilling and myself an opportunity to create some fun images.

For this image, I used a B+W circular polarizer, then double-processed the Raw file three times: once of the shadows, once for the midtones, and once for the sky and fog. Using layers and masks in Photoshop CS4, I combined the three exposures for a more balanced image. Finally, I applied Nik Software's Color Efex Pro's foliage filter to heighten the green foliage.

I am proud to announce my recent affiliation with Nik Software. I use their software on a daily basis when preparing my images for submission to Getty Images, and now I will be part of the Nik team. I'm excited to announce that I can offer you 15% off all their products - see details below! One of my landscape images will be featured in the May edition of Outdoor Photographer Magazine. If you haven't tried their software, check it out. There are free 30-day fully functional downloads available from their website listed below!

My Website: "how to" articles, galleries, stock photos, and more...
www.donsmithphotography.com

Software Discounts:
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Comments (14)

Marie LC from France

What beautiful light ! I like ambiance of this shot

4 Apr 2009 6:36am

@Marie LC: Thank you Marie, this is really more of a summer like image with the fog, but then again, in the summer the hills would be brown.

Eleftheria from Athens, Greece

Fantastic!

4 Apr 2009 7:18am

@Eleftheria: Thanks Eleftheria.

Sheidaa from Tehran, Iran

Incredible ! i really mean it, all of your works which i`ve seen are amazing and attractive and all the time i was thinking how much time and thought would sb spend for taking such an amazing photos with this lighting! so its really incredible

4 Apr 2009 11:51am

@Sheidaa: Thank you Sheidaa, actually there is a lot of hours invested capturing these images, but it is a passion and a career for me. There are times when certain location shoots produce more images than others, and there are times when I come away with nothing. Then there are times, such as with this image, where something completely unexpected transpires. That is part of the reason I love shooting landscapes. Every time I go out with my camera I just try to keep my mind open and receptive to the seemingly endless possibilities that await.

Sheidaa from Tehran, Iran

as im new in this photoblog and clearly im not a member i don`t know how come i cant see your workd in potfolio?!:)

4 Apr 2009 11:54am

@Sheidaa: Hi Sheidaa, I have not placed any images in the portfolio section of this blog. Instead, I would direct you to my website listed above. Thanks for your nice comments and please don't be a stranger.

Judy from Brooksville, Florida, United States

This is gorgeous. Part of me would like to see the before and after to appreciate all the layers and pp work.
Congratulations on being part of the Nik team.

4 Apr 2009 12:01pm

@Judy: Hi Judy, actually all the layers would be quite boring to look at as they would look either washed-out or underexposed. I have written an article on my website HDR the Old-Fashioned Way if you are interested in the process. It is located under the Writings/Articles link on my homepage, or you can just click this link: High Dynamic Range - The Old-Fashioned Way

Hema Iyer from Bangalore, India

Gorgeous landscape shot. You are an inspiration for many of us here. I wish I can join your workshop once before I head back to my country (later this year). The information you have provided in your website is great and is helping us a lot. Thank You.

4 Apr 2009 2:11pm

@Hema Iyer: Good morning Hema, I am glad to hear that all of this is helping. Let me know if you are interested in a workshop before leaving, it would be nice to meet and work with you. Please feel free to email me if you need any information.

john4jack from Corvallis, Oregon, United States

The fog and the subtle sunlight; stunning. You see so well what others often miss.

4 Apr 2009 2:53pm

@john4jack: Good morning Jack, I believe we all see what resonates with us. I've always loved how the fog seemingly can pour over a ridge like a wave. I can tell you we were not the only ones shooting this scene on this morning.

"Marie" :-) from perth, Australia

Hi, I have just read your reply to Sheidaa, and I thought to myself you have a marvelous eye for a great subject and spot on timing for the photo. Truly a great photo. The lighing is just perfect.

4 Apr 2009 4:28pm

@"Marie" :-): Thanks Marie, I tell my workshop participants that it's not the cameras, lenses, filters, etc., that make the image, it is the mind and soul of the photographer. I firmly believe anyone can learn the "craft" of photography; whereas learning to "see" takes a lifetime. Thanks as always for your kind insights.

Walter from Watkinsville, United States

I can feel the coolness of the fog coming my way as I look at this photo.

4 Apr 2009 4:46pm

@Walter: Thanks Walter, where is Watkinsville?

Sheidaa from Tehran, Iran

I`ve visited your website thanks for introducing:) about being stranger!:) and not being a member i should tell i LOVE photography but im not a good photographer so i don`t have any to share thats why im not joining the group but its few days that i`ve become familiar to this photo blog and since then im enjoying alot of visiting the arts and WHO knows maybe one day this talent will suddenly grow up inside me too hehe ;) then for sure i will share mine .Cheers

4 Apr 2009 6:50pm

@Sheidaa: Sheidaa, the beauty of a community like Aminus3 is anyone, at any stage of development, can jump in and post images. I have been posting for over a year now and this community is very supportive. Hope you don't wait too long, and thanks for writing.

Scott Schilling from San Martin, United States

Don another wonderful image. The processing on this is wonderful. The colors really pop on this. I will have to try a couple more of the Nik programs. The greens are great in this. I always wish the hills could stay green longer!

4 Apr 2009 11:34pm

@Scott Schilling: Hi Scott, I am finding myself using the foliage filter more and more, it give the old "Velvia" look to my images. Beri and I look forward to seeing yo tomorrow morning. Hope your weekend is going well.

Walter from Watkinsville, United States

Don - just got a chance to browse your website. Very nice. Watkinsville is in Georgia just a few miles down the road from Athens (home of the University of Georgia-Bulldogs) and about 60 miles NE of Atlanta. I did not see any of your sports photos posted but would like to see some of that work as well. Thanks for visiting my site.

6 Apr 2009 2:12am

@Walter: Hi Walter, I've been to Atlanta a number of times and really enjoy the city and the surroundings, a beautiful area. Thanks for stopping by my website. If you click on the Portfolios tab on my home page, you will see two galleries containing sports (San Jose Sharks - I am team photographer, and a generic sports). After 30 years, I am winding my sports career down and putting my energies into my landscape work. Thus, I decided to downplay my sports work on my site and promote my landscape images. Thanks for writing, hope to hear from you again.

Tracy from La Selva Beach, United States

Thanks again Don, Not only a beautiful image- but a wealth of information, too. I will try the Nik software. I feel like I am on the "edge of a cliff" with my photography right now, & I need to work so much harder to "make" images. (Often I feel like I could fall right off that cliff, too!) I am at a point where I really want to improve--not by using special software, necessarily, but in the actual making of the image for the camera...So, even if you don't realize it your posts & photography are helping me enormously! Thank You!

6 Apr 2009 2:53pm