My time on Little Corona Del Mar Beach felt all too fleeting. I made an impromptu visit to this patch of the coast to take in the sunrise. It was my first visit to Little Corona Del Mar and it did not disappoint. After the sun cleared the hills, washing the color from the scene, I turned my attention to a v-shaped formation of clouds overhead. The clouds moved away from the land out to sea, almost as if they were being chased off by the rising sun.

The tide was gently rising, the gaps between the fingers of rock on the north end of the beach slowly filling in with saltwater. I positioned my camera so the angle of the rocks mimicked the v-shaped clouds. After a few test shots, I opted for a very long exposure to smooth out the water, simplifying the scene, reducing the chaos of the rippling waves in the foreground.

The sun had cleared the hills entirely. It was bright. I have the perfect filter for this situation. A monster of a filter, a 17-stop ND filter by Haida. With this filter, multi-minute exposures are no problem, even in the brightest of conditions. Yeah … I think it worked out pretty well.