iPhone Photography, Travel Photography and Camera Reviews
This is LA as photographed from the Manhattan Beach pier. You can find it just north of Hermosa Beach. If you are interested, you can find out more information in my ‘Photographer’s Guide To Hermosa Beach‘. It’s a great place to visit for a long weekend.
Photographer’s Note – This is a single image processed in Lightroom 4. To achieve this effect I split-toned the image, desaturated it a bit, changed the white balance and boosted the noise reduction to soften it a touch.
From me, the entire HOSSedia team and a very tall Santa!
Surfing is a spiritual activity. You hear surfers talk about it, but when you really think about it there are few other activities which provide such a direct communion with nature. You sit, staring at the flat horizon, waiting for waves of energy to roll in that have originated thousands of miles out at sea. When they do, you paddle as hard as you can to ride them to their final destination. It’s a beautiful moment.
One evening we found ourselves having dinner in the charming little town of Pacifica, just south of San Francisco. I remember beautiful waves were rolling in as the sun was setting behind them. There were a few surfers in the lineup, and we watched as they made the cycle from wave to wave. I had struck up a conversation with our waiter and he shared a story about two of his regular customers. Both were retired. One was a long time surfer, the other was a long time runner. The runner was depressed because his knees bothered him and he could no longer do what he loved. The surfer on the other hand was happy as a lark. He surfed everyday and recounted his tales with our waiter on a regular basis. Last year, I ended making the decision to give up running. It was tough because I love the freedom it allows you. I often say there is no better way to explore a city than to go for a run through it. Although it was hard, I remind myself of this story and it reassures me that giving up the running shoes for my stand up paddle board was the right thing to do. Maybe someday I will be like this guy…hanging ten, early in the morning on a Wednesday? I wish everyone who visits here the best and I hope you are all able to do what you love as long as your heart desires. Whatever that thing is, go out and do it today…no need to wait for tomorrow.
The sun had gone down after shooting this image, when I looked back and saw what seemed like a planetary outpost. The pier, leading to the Lifeguard station, reminded me a bit of martian mining operation. What do you think?
Photographer’s Note: To achieve the vision I had in my head, I had to do two things. I warmed up the image by changing my white balance. By doing this I was able to give the image a reddish color. The second thing I did was stop down my fisheye lens to create the star burst effects in the lights. They seemed more alien that way.
