Joy of Light Photoblog
Wild Surf
Posted by Stephen Phillips (San Francisco, United States) on 27 June 2008 in Miscellaneous and Portfolio.
Along the Sonoma coastline - California - near Jenner.
© copyright 2009 by Stephen Phillips Photography / San Francisco / www.joyoflight.com
please respect these rights - do not copy or use these images without permission
Your comments are invited. You will also find me at ...
Thomas Griffioen from Bocas del Toro, Panama
Wow! This looks wild, also because of the rock in the back! I have seen a lot of surf photos, but this one is different. I can almost feel the laundrymachine... :-)
27 Jun 2008 5:24am
@Thomas Griffioen: Thank you, Thomas - the surf was as impressive as it looks here. What made this amazing was the sunlight poking through the considerable marine overcast made it possible to get good highlights of the surf without burning out parts of the exposure.
dj.tigersprout from San Bruno, United States
superb! another stunner! so much raw and beautiful power! that spray is simply amazing... bravo!
27 Jun 2008 5:55am
@dj.tigersprout: Thanks, DJ.
Shun from Mühlheim am Main, Germany
Oh my... What is it today that a lot of the people I have in my blogwatch post the most fantastic works on this friday? :-) This one is truly briliant. One of your best for sure ... Check out Ian Branham's pic if you want to know what I mean with the other pics from my blogwatch ;-)
27 Jun 2008 6:19am
@Shun: Mirko - thank you very much. And you are so right about Ian's amazing post today. Walk in joyous light...
@Marie Le Corre: Thank you, Marie.
Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom
This is a great photo. You've taken the picture from a great angle. Handy having a bird flying across the face of the wave too which adds interest and helps you relate to the size of the wave. Nice one.
27 Jun 2008 6:42am
@Mike: You found the bird! Thank you for the kind words.
Brian from Seattle, United States
Fantastic photo, the waves are so dynamic. well done.
27 Jun 2008 7:49am
Klaus from Augsburg, Germany
Oh man, also my opinion, one of the best!! - Great captering, very nice contrast!
27 Jun 2008 8:58am
@Klaus: Thank you very much, Klaus.
Alisha from Bielefeld,Germany, Germany
thast cool i like thsi one ,good shot stephan
27 Jun 2008 9:06am
@Anthony Lambert: Thanks, Anthony. You might enjoy reading my response to Sherri, regarding this image.
@hugo poon: Thank you, Hugo.
sherri from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Stunning, ominous, splendid, terrific, incredible...words fail me.
27 Jun 2008 1:38pm
@sherri: Thanks, Sherri - and a confession.
This image has enormous meaning to me. One of my dearest friends - Breck Alexander - lived nearby, in the small coastal town of Jenner - and was dying of cancer. I was told by his step-daughter to expect my visit this day to be the last. I reached this spot and came down to the surf to gather myself before going to the house.
I spent a long time here. Meditating. Offering prayer. Taking some photos.
My visit was profound and very good. There was beautiful closure for both of us. He knew exactly where he was in the process of leaving. I gave him a massage. We talked frankly. We kissed and hugged. We said good-bye. He passed the next morning.
If you would like to see a picture of Breck:
http://www.pbase.com/joyoflight/image/91319886
alex centrella from California, United States
another stunning image..where you in the water, or just a long telephoto lens..
27 Jun 2008 3:39pm
@alex centrella: Alex - Thanks for the visit and comment. I was at Goat Rock, along the Sonoma Coast of California. There is a jetty that extends from the shore to the rock and allows one to be out along the surf without being in it. You may clickon the following link to view the same image on my website. This image is 'Geotaged' and will allow you to view a map of the area:
http://www.pbase.com/image/91548003
Enjoy.
Betty from New Jersey, United States
I'm so sorry for your loss, Stephen. The story with the photo is so moving! He looked like a wonderful man! The photo is incredible!
27 Jun 2008 5:58pm
@Betty: Betty - thank you for your thoughtfulness and kind words.
@bruno: Bruno - thanks
Evelyne Dubos from Le Mans, France
What an impressive picture !! Bravo. And a moving story about your friend.
27 Jun 2008 9:32pm
daina from United States
Impressive force and dramatic light - very effective image!
28 Jun 2008 1:06am
sherri from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Incredible force and power. You've captured it well. I like the choice of greyscale.
28 Jun 2008 3:51am
@sherri: Sherri - a commentary on the day - this image is full color. You can see hints of it in the rocks toward shore.
See The Light from Newcastle, United States
Very nice image I like the story near my heart also as I hate cancer, The Photo of Breck is awesome.
1 Jul 2008 9:34pm
@See The Light: Mary - it is good to hear from you. Breck and I go back together into the seventies - I miss him a bunch. And so it goes...
yz from Budapest, Hungary
Wow! I wonder where you were standing and how your equipment survived. Is that with a long lens?
3 Jul 2008 8:22am
@yz: yz - thanks so much - Alex Centrella asked the same question - if you scroll up to that response you'll find a link to the image on my website which is 'Geo-tagged' and will take you to a Google map of where I was.
The image was shot with a Canon XTi with a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens with a 1.4 tele-extender = 280mm - ISO400 - 1/4000th sec - f/7.1
I used the Rebel as opposed to my 5D so as to get the further telephoto effect (280mm x 1.6 = 448mm effective)
@Stefan: Thanks, Stefan
Claus from Herfølge, Denmark
You have really captured the full force of nature here! great shot!
18 Jul 2008 9:33pm
@Jean-Benoît Maréchal: ...thanks - this image has strong personal meaning. I appreciate your comment.
