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Pastel Sunrise, Cannon Beach, Oregon

This was my first morning ever on the Oregon Coast. We arose early to be on the beach at sunrise, and we were not disappointed! As the sun began rising in the east, the light haze over the ocean to the west created a soft pastel sky. It was beautiful. Christeena and I spent the morning walking the beach, photographing the ocean, watching the light change as it gradually fell on Haystack Rock, listening to the sounds of nature, talking, soaking it all in. After the sun rose and the quality of light diminished, we headed to Pig’N Pancake for some fresh blueberry pancakes. We spent the rest of the day hiking, exploring tidepools and relaxing. Great company, good food and a wonderful atmosphere. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

This image is quite unique for me. It has a very soft, almost painterly feel to it. It is very simple yet quite complex at the same time. There is just enough motion in the water to give it a soft feeling, yet still sharp enough to keep the shape of the waves intact. The closer you look, the more you see. The vertical motion of the foam in the foreground counters with the horizontal lines created by the waves in the midground to inject a bit of tension and excitement, yet the overall feel is still very calm. The image is almost monochromatic, yet there is just a hint of pastel color in the sky, created by the early morning light as it interacted with the haze hanging low over the ocean. The .6 second shutter speed was just slow enough to capture a sense of movement, yet just fast enough to maintain some detail. Any faster or slower and the image would not be nearly as effective at creating feeling and emotion.

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