New Release: Malibu Gold

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For the last few weeks, I’ve been doing some experiments and tests on my different lenses, trying to find that sweet spot.

During these tests, I discovered why we really shouldn’t always be shooting high apertures as landscape photographers. I’ve found my Samyang 14mm lens performs best really at an f13. I’ve always been shooting f16. You can read all about what I’ve learned about diffraction here.

So with my recent photos on this particular lens, I’ve been shooting at f13. You might be thinking there will be less DOF at f13, but once you apply post sharping, everything turns out really nice.

My area of focus in this shot was the rock in the foreground, which was only 2 to 3 feet from the lens. Yet the pier in the background also remains in focus because of the nature of this ultrawide lens.

About The Shot – ‘Malibu Gold’

This Landscape Photo was taken near the Malibu Pier in Malibu California. It was an extremely high tide so I was able to capture the waves interacting with the foreground rock formation. The lighting and time of day made the rock look almost like gold.

It’s really nice shooting in Malibu, it’s quiet and it’s relatively undisturbed by hordes of photographers. It’s especially nice in the summer when the sunset happens after rush hour.

I’ve working on a whole series of Malibu fine art beach photography for this summer. As long as the weather permits I should be able to continue to get some great shots. The beaches have this mysterious quality, there are so many great hidden rock formations along the coast under all the housing. It’s been a fun project so far.