There and Back Again

thapamd

I'm back from my two day visit to Shi Shi and Point of Arches along the Olympic coast. I think the Tolkienian reference of the my title is fitting as the scenes before me were akin to those out of Middle Earth. I saw giant eagles, sea creatures, and rock formations taller than many man-made structures. I hope you enjoy these images below.

Sony A-900 and the following lenses: Zeiss 16-35 f/2.8; Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8; Sony 100mm macro; Sony 70-400 G

dseidman

Wow, talk about a successful trip! Every one of these is awesome and there's no use in even trying to pick a favorite. It looks like you got some great lighting. Did you not get those cloudless skies at night that you were hoping for?

hawkeye978

There is so many new threads coming in and comments made this got pushed off the first page too fast.

Great set of shots. I particularly like the light in the first and then the macro series of the anemone, starfish, and crab towards the end.

Bump to the first page for everyone to see.

cmkultradome

These photos are all stunning!! I love the first photo with the starfish in the picture and also the last few of the tidepools. The Olympic Coast is on the top of my "bucket list" along with the Grand Canyon and the Canadian Rockies. Hopefully I'll get out to Washington/Oregon next year. Thanks for allowing me to take a virtual vacation while at work!!

Stephanie

Eia

I've been waiting for these...and knew you would come back with spectacular images. :DThere is a lot to take; huge landscapes and micro scapes! the third one stands out for me but after that it is impossible to choose a favorite because there is so much variety and they are all stunning. It looks like you enjoyed your trip.These are a pleasure to view!!!

Jack'll do

WOW Maresh!!!
These captures are fantastic. Each of the color images trumps it's predecessor and overshadows the B&W images which could stand very well on their own but pale in comparison. bow

dlplumer

Holy starfish batman. What can I say These are from another world.

Dan

KellyC

Excellent job Mahesh those pictures are incredible!

Punkybeth

Oh my Lord!!!!! These are incredible Mahesh!!!! bow
I really do see Middle Earth in some of these shots! Another fantastic series...thanks for sharing!!!

Robyn

NeilL

From there and back again, I feel like I have just seen a multi-million dollar blockbuster movie.

Thanks, not only for the great pleasure, but more for what I can learn from these.

The quality in each image is uncompromising.

I can't find the emoticon which can express my admiration.

Neil

thapamd

dseidman wrote:

Wow, talk about a successful trip! Every one of these is awesome and there's no use in even trying to pick a favorite. It looks like you got some great lighting. Did you not get those cloudless skies at night that you were hoping for?

Danny, thank you, my friend! The trip was fantastic. Because I went during the week, the place was not crowded at all...only about 4 or 5 people on the entire beach. I am also happy to have been there during very low tide (-2.3 feet!). I could walk out pretty far to those rocks. I'm glad you enjoyed these shots.

The evening was cloudless, but the only good comps were looking west and south as the tide had come in pretty close. I wanted some star trails that looked like circles, not straight or arced lines. So I didn't really bother with night photography this time.

thapamd

hawkeye978 wrote:

There is so many new threads coming in and comments made this got pushed off the first page too fast.

Great set of shots. I particularly like the light in the first and then the macro series of the anemone, starfish, and crab towards the end.

Bump to the first page for everyone to see.

Thanks Tom! I was very fortunate with both the light and the low tide. I saw some amazing stuff, only 1/10 of which I could capture and bring back to share you y'all. I think I'll be visiting that place again before the sumer is over or in the early fall.

tisun

Amazing trip -- so many great shots. Love the starfish. I don't know how you managed to squeeze amazing scenery, good lighting, low tide, starfish, and eagle into one trip.

Nikolai

Awesome series! Definitely a place I'd like to go one day...

bryanj87

Where do I even begin? This is such an awesome series of shots. I have to add this to my places to hit when I return to Washington.

marcpro

Fantastic shots.

My favorite is the tree silouhette against the orange sky. It has a calming, soothing effect on me.

Cheers,
Marc.

NorthernFocus

OK... now I'm officially ashamed to post any more images here Incredible work, Mahesh. Especially when I realize that I probably would have walked right by most of these spots without even recognizing the potential. Incredible work...

coscorrosa

These are awesome! Great comps throughout, nice use of a wide angle (and posting XL really makes a difference). Sweet shots of the eagle and tide life too. What a ridiculous amount of sea stacks on that beach. I'm going to have to start backpacking, I'm missing out!

thapamd

cmkultradome wrote:

These photos are all stunning!! I love the first photo with the starfish in the picture and also the last few of the tidepools. The Olympic Coast is on the top of my "bucket list" along with the Grand Canyon and the Canadian Rockies. Hopefully I'll get out to Washington/Oregon next year. Thanks for allowing me to take a virtual vacation while at work!!

Stephanie

Thanks, Stephanie! Although I love to photograph the Southwest, I'd never want to leave the Pacific Northwest. It offers such diverse shooting opportunities, it's mind boggling! If you come out here, shoot me an e-mail, and I can give you a list of "must see" places.

thapamd

Eia wrote:

I've been waiting for these...and knew you would come back with spectacular images. :DThere is a lot to take; huge landscapes and micro scapes! the third one stands out for me but after that it is impossible to choose a favorite because there is so much variety and they are all stunning. It looks like you enjoyed your trip.These are a pleasure to view!!!

Thanks, Eia! I was tired when I got home, but not so tired that I couldn't post-process my "good" images. You've always had kind comments about my photography, and I've very happy that these lived up to your expectations. Imagine the joy in my heart when i woke up early in the morning and saw the low tide, the fog rolling in, and the light just climbing above the mountains. I was in photographic heaven!

thapamd

Jack'll do wrote:

WOW Maresh!!!
These captures are fantastic. Each of the color images trumps it's predecessor and overshadows the B&W images which could stand very well on their own but pale in comparison. bow

Thanks, Jack! Some shots just screamed to be converted to b&w, but I agree with you here...they don't seem to have as much impact as the colors. However, I do like the one with the rays coming through the forest.

canon400d

thapamd wrote:

Thanks, Jack! Some shots just screamed to be converted to b&w, but I agree with you here...they don't seem to have as much impact as the colors. However, I do like the one with the rays coming through the forest.

Wow Maresh what a wonderful series. Those shots are stunning and beautiful I loved each and everyone. Well done.
Regards
Bob

crow

what a great series, loved them all, especially your BW on the trees.
Must add to never ending list of places to go !!!! Thanks for making
this list longer.

boblu262

What a wonderful set of images! If I could go and shoot half the places you've shot with half the results, I'd be a very happy man!

thapamd

dlplumer wrote:

Holy starfish batman. What can I say These are from another world.

Dan

Thanks, Dan! It did feel like I was in another world as I walked through this area.

thapamd

KellyC wrote:

Excellent job Mahesh those pictures are incredible!

Thanks, Kelly! I had a great time camping and photographing on this trip.

thapamd

Punkybeth wrote:

Oh my Lord!!!!! These are incredible Mahesh!!!! bow
I really do see Middle Earth in some of these shots! Another fantastic series...thanks for sharing!!!

Robyn

Thanks, Robyn!As I was exploring the tide pools and looking around, I half expected Smiegle to come out from behind one of the hay stack rocks.

thapamd

NeilL wrote:

From there and back again, I feel like I have just seen a multi-million dollar blockbuster movie.

Thanks, not only for the great pleasure, but more for what I can learn from these.

The quality in each image is uncompromising.

I can't find the emoticon which can express my admiration.

Neil

Thank you, Neil! The presence of the fog made the exposure easier than otherwise, and it also provided some great atmosphere and mood for the place. I'm happy you enjoyed these images, as well as learned from them.

thapamd

tisun wrote:

Amazing trip -- so many great shots. Love the starfish. I don't know how you managed to squeeze amazing scenery, good lighting, low tide, starfish, and eagle into one trip.

Thanks, tisun! It was an amazing trip. All these things were there for the taking. We saw about 7 eagles, a few of them close enough to get good photographs of.

thapamd

Nikolai wrote:

Awesome series! Definitely a place I'd like to go one day...

Thanks, Nikolai! This area should be on every photographer's short list of places to visit.

thapamd

bryanj87 wrote:

Where do I even begin? This is such an awesome series of shots. I have to add this to my places to hit when I return to Washington.

Thanks, Bryan! It's about a 4 1/2 hr drive from Seattle, and the hike is pretty easy. I think you should definitely visit this area when you come out this way next.