Sharking Hour

Growing up in the South of England meant our summer holidays were spent in an area called the Jurassic Coast. Whilst I didn't appreciate it as a kid, it has since become one of my favourite places to visit. Majestic coastlines, quaint fishing villages and an abundance of wildlife. If you ever find yourself in the UK and want to get away from the cities, I cannot recommend the south coast enough. It really is a little world within itself.

In 2016 I moved to San Francisco, California. A drastic change from my English countryside life, but one that was made easier thanks to the California coastline that resembles some of my fondest childhood memories from England and being by the sea.

From Big Sur to Point Reyes, living in San Francisco you are blessed with incredible coastal views and hikes, all of which are an easy weekend or day trip away. Any visit to California is not complete without enjoying the infamous Highway 1 drive up and down the coast. No matter the time of year, you will not be disappointed.

With a friend visiting from the UK, I used the opportunity (not that I ever need an excuse) to go for a drive down Highway 1 and visit Shark Fin Cove for the first time. Whilst I had heard about it before and seen it in photos many times, I had never stopped here, always choosing other locations to go photograph instead, something I now regret (and you can see why!)

Having never visited the area before, we made sure to get to the area a good hour or so before the sun was due to set. Not only did this allow us to take our time and enjoy the area before “getting to work” but it also meant we could scout various spots to get our “perfect shot”.

Having found my “spot” it was time to crack open a brew and sit down to enjoy the sunset, and boy did it deliver. I decided I wanted something in the foreground to lead the viewer into the image and showcase the beauty of the coastal flowers that exist in the area, so shooting with a wide angle lens and in portrait allowed me to capture the flowers at the very bottom, whilst keeping the scale of the cove intact in the midground. I also decided to use a slow shutter speed, in order to get that candy floss effect with the water, giving the illusion of calm in an otherwise rough and rugged coastal region. Using a Circular Polarizing filter was the finishing touch, this allowed me to reduce reflections and glare from the water, whilst improving the vividness and contrast of the image.

Using Lightroom to edit the shot, I didn't have to do much to achieve the “look” I was hoping for (these are my favourite kind of photos). I started by sharpening the rocks to bring out the detail, then using gradual filters I brought out the purples and oranges in the sky. Finally, I adjusted the white balance and the tones to get the color profile I was hoping for, and viola - one of my favourite coastal landscape shots was complete.

What I really love about this photo is that every time I look at it, I spot something different. A bird on a cliff, a shape in the rock, the slow swirl of water, the various flowers in the foreground. I think it's down to all the elements that make up the shot that make it special to me, and how it encompasses the beauty of the California coastline, with many visual similarities of my childhood vacations to the Jurassic Coast.