Last week I made my obligatory pilgrimage to the central California coast and McWay Falls in particular. As most of you have probably noticed I tend to look at a scene for its possibilities as a panorama. Often this ends up just as a higher-resolution version of a composition that could be done with a single frame. But in some cases it afford an opportunity for a take on a scene different from the usual.
I spent most of the afternoon at my staked-out spot along the walkway and took a number of more or less conventional views as the light changed (I'll post a couple separately). I had the advantage of being there on June 20, so the sun was about as far north as it gets, and shone directly into the cove. But when sunset finally came (with just a modest cloud show), I found that the sun nicely silhouetted the oak tree further up the path, and including this made a nice progressing line down into the cove. I haven't seen any other McWay shots like this (which doesn't mean there aren't any!), so this is a case where a panorama approach created a unique opportunity.
Thanks for your comments, everyone. I had a lot of fog and less than optimum lighting on this tour of the central California coast, so this interlude at McWay was a treat. What a beautiful place!
Very well composed shot and I love the panorama aspect. I would suggest to brighten a bit the water at the bottom. BTW curious to see how it looks B&W.
Thanks, CW, JameelH, fplstudio, Gordon and Tom. Fpl, with the sun coming in at a low angle it didn't penetrate the water and give the brilliant blue seen in some shots closer to midday. I have lightened up the cove to show more of the color, but was reluctant to go further lest it start to look incongruously light. But I'll take a look and see if I can get away with more. It certainly would be nice to have more of that color pop out.
