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El Matador State Beach
Malibu, CA
03-14-2021
Processed: 10/30/24
Never before processed or presented, so even though it's an over three year old photo, it's new to me!
EDIT: Explored 11/01/24 at 105. Thank you to everyone who views, faves, follows, and comments on my images! 🙏🙏🙏🙏💖💖💖💖🎁🎁🎁🎁🎉🎉🎉🎉😂😂😂😂😮😮😮😮😁😁😁😁
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El Matador State Beach
Malibu, CA
10-22-2022
Art photo composited 10/30/24
{I think most photographers don't just automatically share their process, but I've been doing it for a while on my Facebook photography page for those interested, and sometimes do so here on Flickr as well.}
This is a composited image sewn together in Photoshop from two photos taken on the same day at the same place, and pretty much with the camera aimed in the same direction but at different times. Photos taken on Oct. 22, 2022. Processing took a couple of days off and on and was completed this morning 10/30/24.
The foreground is at El Matador State Beach. I composited the sunset shot from one I took farther up the beach about a half hour later. The foreground of the sunset shot wasn't that interesting, and the foreground shot here didn't have an interesting sky, so I merged the two. I also expanded the sunset itself which was much smaller and farther off on the horizon.
When doing something like this, I pay attention to the edges of the foreground image and the lighting. I darkened those two rocks extending up into the sky, but they might still be too light. I also experimented with the lighting and color correction filters in Topaz Photo AI but was not satisfied with the "computer's" results.
I had a bit of trouble with the clone brush getting the area of ocean between the rocks to match with the sunset, and tried various tools including the removal tool (the one I use to make people disappear). It's not a major part of the image, but while the sunset to the left of the rock looks okay to me, the area to the right does not.
I'm cognizant of the fact most everyone who views digital photography on a website like Facebook, Instagram or Flickr does so on their phones. I've seen images which look "amazing" on a phone but if blown up look out of focus and full of noise. I use a lot of processing tools, and go in to pixel depth to sometimes correct an area I find problematical in one of my images. My images are meant to be seen on the largest screen possible, and they're still sharp and vibrant. (or at least I hope they are. 😁)
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Going through some old photos of my go to SoCal Beach, El Matador, and came across this one.
What do you see in the cloud?
I also see an alligator, and in the darker parts, a small Yorkie sitting.
Is that weird?
Highest position in Explore: 461 on Friday, August 23, 2024.
Thank you all for the comments and faves!
Forget it, they quack, I'm saying it.
Location: El Matador State Beach
Do these things even quack?
Location: El Matador State Beach
It felt good to be back for the first time in almost seven years to shoot at El Matador State Beach.
One of the reasons I've stayed away is because as baseball great Yogi Berra once said, "it's too crowded. No one goes there anymore."
Since my first time there fifteen years ago, it's really gained in popularity and it's always crowded with photographers, videographers, models, artists, musicians, and just people hanging out to watch the sunset, explore the tide pools, climb the sea stacks and walk in the sand.
I had been itching to go back once the weather started getting cooler; well, relatively speaking for SoCal anyway, and thought that a weekday afternoon might not be that crowded.
But when I got there, the parking lot was full. But I was fortunate to find the last open parking space.
I made it down to the beach about 20 minutes before sunset, and knew exactly where I wanted to set up and try to catch the sun going down framed by one of the many sea stacks, hoping it wouldn't be overrun by others armed with cameras.
Luckily, it wasn't and this is the result.
Seagull. El Matador State Beach, Malibu, California.
