Massive winter storm systems form in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles off shore. They move relentlessly towards the coast gathering momentum where they lash the land with gale force winds and batter the shoreline with massive waves. They don’t stop until their energy is expended. Eventually the storm passes and the sky clears leaving behind an unruly sea.

The waves that gained their momentum over hundreds of miles take days to dissipate. I could see the cirrus clouds moving in from the horizon as I hiked out towards the coastline. It was only hours after the massive winter storm had passed. This would be a memorable sunset.

 I set up on a rock ledge and framed a shot, cracked a beer then sat back and enjoyed one of the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen.

Technical details – A Nikon 14-30mm was used at 22mm. A 5-stop ND and long exposure was used to subdue the sea however the intensity of the waves ensured a nice texture still remained.

There was still a modest wind thus a second short exposure shot was taken to achieve sharpness in the trees or any other object that moved in the wind. Post processing involved overlaying the two images, sharpening, dodge/burn and colour grading.