Seascapes

Did I tell you that San Pedro is port town?

As a rain storm is supposed to land this weekend, we’re already having very windy days. When the roar of the surf gets gets louder, Cabrillo Beach Pier and Breakwater are the perfect place to watch them break. I joined a few like minded photogs who were already there capturing the high waves crashing against the breakwater. It is such an intense adrenaline rush capturing these insane waves crashing as the salty water splashes high in every direction. The clouds hanging just over the horizon added an exquisite texture in the background that would have been not as interesting otherwise. A Royal Princess cruise ship whose white body now soaked in the warm sunset lighting happened to sail across the frame after leaving the port. Did I tell you that San Pedro is a port town?

Not so fast

Muelle Braun & Blanchard at sunset The sun sank behind the mountains in the distance. I turned my camera to the left hoping to capture more colors in the water. But the fact that the clouds had turned grey fast didn’t promise me much. But I also enjoy capturing moody, almost melancholic, twilight skies once the dusk settles in. Right before it gets real dark. And I thought that it was what I would be capturing. There were at least three other photographers with a tripod, an ND filter and a remote trigger and one of them literally started breaking down one of his two cameras thinking that it was over. Not so fast. Suddenly the color magenta started coming through the band of clouds hovering over the sea. It was so unexpected, so unbelievable and so vivid. The color magenta was so vibrant that it didn’t even look real. And yet it was. Baffled, the guy packing up his gear simply dropped everything, grabbed his remaining camera on the tripod and hastily lunged the piles of rocks where we had been standing down to the water. I could tell that he was quite frustrated by the fact that it was happening so fast. Soon only the pale, grey clouds returned as if it never happened. And it was time to call it a day for real.

Closer to the end of the world

Muelle Braun & Blanchard at sunset As usual, I waited for more. And more surely came. What began as a sight of golden hour glow cast on the worn, wooden posts of the old pier (muelle) turned into something more exciting as time passed. The colors started seeping through the scattered clouds, which meant that the reflection of the sky in the water was also quite pleasing to look at. Although the sea wasn’t calm as a lake could be, it certainly was no longer grey. The colors soon reached Cerro Monumento Moore, whose peak was seen over the ridge line of a hill from where I was. And the looming presence of the massive Cerro Balmaceda (2,035 m, or 6,677 ft) at the vanishing point of the pier certainly set the tone. I was that much closer to the end of the world. With the sky permeated from yellow to orange to pink as far as my eyes could see, I was getting excited with what was happening before my camera lens. A landscape photographer may expect something spectacular, but he/she knows that Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate, so it is always great to see some colors in the sky.

Quite pleasing

Muelle Braun & Blanchard at sunset Life was good again. After all the miserable wet and cold conditions to hike in in Torres del Paine, I was back in Puerto Natales, and the keywords for the settings were warmth and comfort. My Chilean friend Benjamin and I spent our day making a bike trip to Mylodon Cave, which was two hours away. It was extremely windy particularly on our way back to town, and we were glad that we were back in town safely. After dinner, I suggested that we go back to this old remnants of the dock at the beach to take photos. Contrary to our anticipation that it would be very windy, it was very pleasant. Hardly no wind at all with perfect temperature to hang out in. And so many locals came out and enjoyed themselves at sunset. I had been quite disappointed by the lack of opportunities to take photos while backpacking the O Circuit mainly because of the rain, I was very much looking forward to that little opportunity. Although it wasn’t the best sunset that I had ever seen, it was quite pleasing.

As if somebody set it on fire

My friends invited me for a sunset sail. I wasn’t sure if we would get any good sunset, considering how hazy and overcast the west sky had been all day. But I certainly welcomed the opportunity. We met at the MDR marina where his boat was parked, and we were ready to go in less than 20 minutes. As leaving the marina and sailing out into the open ocean, we noticed that the thick layer of clouds that covered the sky was clearing up above the Santa Monica Mountains. As the sun appeared in the opening, everything turned gold. When the sun dropped behind the mountains, the sky that had been smeared in gold started glowing orange and then red. As if somebody set it on fire, the flames started spreading across the sky like crazy.

And there I stood frozen

The last stretch of the blazing sunset glow reached as far as my eyes could see. Everything that my eyes landed on turned red and pink. It was one of those sunsets burning so intense that you could almost feel the heat from it. So surreal that you could see the potent glow cast on yourself, as if it was an out of body experience. And there I stood, frozen and captivated by the ethereal colors.

Albeit storm was clearly brewing

Prior to this evening, my attempt to capture a sunset didn’t pan out well a few days ago. The thick wall of a marine layer towered over the horizon, resulting in a spectacular sunset dud. Part of me wasn’t sure how the sky would turn out to be this evening either, but when clouds gather in the sky, as many photographers do, I went. The gentle winds greeted me at the shore, albeit a storm was clearly brewing out in the ocean. The clouds kept rolling in. And soon the whole world started illuminating in orange and purple.

Embers of charcoal came to life

The clouds in the sky during day looked really promising. Although the clouds lingered, however, by the time when I got to the beach, a thick marine layer just stood over the horizon like a wall where the sun was dropping. Even after the sun was set, the thick grey layer grew paler. I thought to myself that it was another dud, just like so many duds that I had seen. Part of me just wanted to pack it up and leave. But I just didn’t. And then something unexpected started happening. As if embers of charcoal came to life by freshly circulated air. The thick layer literally started glowing in orange. And then from orange to red. And then all the clouds started turning red, as if the large number of embers blown by the wind started kindling a fire. It was happening fast. The water turned red. And then in purple. I was so glad that I stayed put.

Wondered if red glow would last into night

The twilight descended quickly. But, still strewn with the flaming clouds, the brightly lit sky was not going to lose the colors any time soon. The tides were low, but the waves kept crashing violently at the rock bed below me. I wondered if the red glow would last into the night. As if a volcano erupted and the perpetual flow of lava were swirling into the ocean.

Awash in overflow of salt water

Again, it was one of those moments. I was indecisive. Did the sky look like if we were going to have a colorful sunset? Till I actually left for the beach and then even was on my way. And it wasn’t clear… till the sun actually dropped right above the horizon. The clouds started glowing in orange, red and then purple. The ocean simply reflected whatever colors in the sky. The tides were coming in fast, and I hopped around the rocks to stay dry. But, eventually a big wave crashed hard and got my feet awash in the overflow of salt water.

Splashes started glowing in pink

Thanks to another rainstorm, a ton of clouds lingered in the sky. So, I headed to Flat Rock Point. The winds were blowing like crazy at the shore. For some reason though, instead of going straight down to the bottom as I always had, I took a stroll down toward the cove, 100 yards south of the point. This shallow bay had a tiny bedrock jutting out into the water, letting the powerful waves crash and splash all over it. The sky turned orange as the sun was dropping fast near the horizon. And the splashes started glowing in pink.

Crashing into this little concave

Don’t know why I wanted to come back. Probably because the last sunset I witnessed here was so impressive. Or I just simply liked the rock formations here. The tides were low, which let me venture all the way out to the end of the rockbed, which was impossible last time. As the sun touched down the horizon, the orange glow grew intense. Loved how the waves were crashing into this little concave.

Couldn’t tell where horizon was

The sky was literally on fire! While with my eyes transfixed at the burning stratosphere, I couldn’t believe how intense it was getting by the minute. The ocean soon got completely imbued with the red and orange glow. I couldn’t tell where the horizon was. I hiked above the sea of clouds at sunset numerous times. But this was the first time where I wondered if this was what flying above the clouds at sunset would be like.

Nothing to complain about

One of the advantages of having two cameras is that I could produce images twice as many in any given time! Ha! How simple is the concept! It only requires a strategic planning in setting up those two cameras where each can’t be seen. The day after the rainstorm certainly presented a lot of clouds still lingering in the blue sky. The wind was still blowing strong, which resulted in high surfs. The clouds were traveling fast overhead. Literally, there was nothing to complain about. Except for the fine mists that I had to wipe off the lens nonstop.

Swirled in purple

I believe, if my memory serves me right, that the whole tip of the bedrock was overflown by the surge of water. I narrowly escaped a massive overflow of water, although my attempt to avoid it was eventually caught up in the end, and found another spot to capture the bedrock slowly submerging in the ebb and flow. The sky painted in orange and purple got intense. The clouds started smearing red. And the water swirled in purple.

God is solitude of man

Then, the blazing clouds spread across the sky like wildfire. Stood frozen at the end of the rock bed strewn with the puddles reflecting the gorgeous colors, I was slowly losing myself in this almost dreamlike state. So calm and tranquil although the sound of the perpetual low tides was deafening. Then, crept in Jean-Paul Sartre’s quote. “God is absence. God is the solitude of man.” Happy new year, everyone!

It was just deafening

It is always beautiful to witness the sun to touch down the horizon. Sometimes it is so bright, and the glow is so overwhelmingly awash that the sun evaporates into the air. This evening, however, it was just the sun simply dropping behind the horizon without much of fanfare from the clouds. Instead it was the waves that kept crashing at the shore and swallowed up any bit of sound that may ever been heard for the sun. It was just deafening.

Simply mirrored heavenly body

When the sky glows in orange and red like crazy, it is always a great idea to take advantage of that by capturing the reflection of it if water is nearby. Like embers of charcoal came to life, the parts of the thick marine layer that had completely blotted out the sun earlier suddenly radidated in yellow and orange. Torched by the sun and rekindled by the embers, the clouds caught flames in red. The water completely suffused with the gorgeous colors simply mirrored the heavenly body.

Ready to complete my 20%

As unpredictable a weather can be, it could be just hit or miss. But if you don’t show up, you will never find out. Woody Allen said 80% of success was showing up. Not that I think you will succeed if you show up, but one thing is certain. No show means zero percent of success. The sky was slowly turning orange and the sea vigorously surged against the rockshore. And I was ready to complete my 20%.

Slowly rolling across sky

A rainstorm was brewing out in the ocean. Thankfully the winds at the shore were gentle. Besides shooting with my Canon, I set up my Sony A6500 to do timelapse, and this is one of the shots that I was awarded with. It has a timelapse app that lets you do it without physically being there to monitor exposures. Soon the whole world started glowing in orange and purple. I loved how these gorgeous clouds were slowly rolling across the sky.

I patiently waited

One of the seascapes I captured past January was this. To my disappointment, the sunset wasn’t living up to how promising it appeared to be. But, then, that wasn’t new. I decided to focus on splashes and swirling water instead. Soon, I was settled by this hole and crevice which got constantly submerged by the overflowing water. It was just a matter of snapping that right moment. I patiently waited.

Vividly smudged

Every sunset is pretty to look at. But it is true that a sunset with a fair amount of clouds lingering in the sky can be unforgettably beautiful. And the one at this evening proved just that. Loved how the clouds and the waves were vividly smudged with the vibrant orange glow. And it is what made all the waiting and patience worth while.