Hole in the Rock Panorama, Pfeiffer State Beach, Big Sur, California

This island of stone with an amazing "doorway" to the ocean has become quite an iconic photo location. I had the opportunity to lead a 4 day photo tour with a private client to the Carmel / Big Sur area of the California coast, and arranged to help him photograph this spot as one of our destinations. Given the amount of time we planned to spend here, I took the opportunity to set up my view camera with the 6x17cm film back. I chose not to include the entire rock, making the opening a bit more important to the scene. Using a long exposure was part of the lesson plan, and this shot is an example of how a long exposure causes all of the waves to blend into a fog, softening the water and adding to the weight of the rock. It is a beautiful contrast. Needless to say, the visit, and the image, was a success.