My June 2016 Photo of the Month is Glow Above Ross Rock, an image made at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park in San Diego, California.
Glow Above Ross Rock Background
First things, first. I know the surfers call it Birdshit Rock. But the proper name is Ross Rock and I will stick to that.
I typically prefer wide angles and big spaces. Indeed, I have photographed Ross Rock so many times with wide angle lenses, yet on this beautiful visit to Sunset Cliffs I decided to focus in.
This image indeed is at 55mm, much narrower than the majority of my keepers. There are other outliers, for instance, a couple images from Iron Mountain and in Trinidad, Colorado that I shot at a full 300mm.
While I shot from a number of angles and compositions, I chose this image because I think it is best balanced. Many of my landscape orientation versions ended up with a horizon in the middle and an image split in two. This image I think is more balanced, with Ross Rock about 1/3rd up the image and the horizon/clouds taking up about 40% of the upper part of the photograph. To me, this felt more balanced.
The Summer Blues
Absent monsoon conditions, like one that happened on my birthday a couple years ago, San Diego in the Summer can be tough for dramatic photographs. East County will get a couple cumulonimbus cloud formations, but it does depend on monsoonal moisture moving North.
Great photography weather like this should be cherished, because we could go an entire season without them.
The Summer Blues are here, but I hope to get around and see some drama and beauty in our landscapes.
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.
T.M. Schultze is a San Diego-based photographer, traveller, and writer. He writes, photographs, and draws things of the outdoors that have inspired humans for thousands of years. He co-authored the Photographer’s Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.