A break in the storm

Laguna Beach, CA is gorgeous.  It really is - at least the beach is.  I quickly passed through the town, so I can't speak for it, though I hear it is an artist colony of sorts so it can't be all bad.  Places like that are usually pretty cool in my opinion, like Santa Fe.  I had been out in Orange County on business and luckily found some time to go chase the light.  Unluckily, it was raining like crazy.  Well, the tides turned my direction (no pun intended) and the storm broke for a bit.  I made a mad dash to the public beach there in Laguna Beach and got after it.  It was windy as hell, I was not dressed appropriately, and several times I nearly took a header off these slippery rocks into the drink - but I got some good shots.  So basically, it was awesome.  I love this stuff.  It is so fun to go hunting for photographs, and especially when you are in an unfamiliar place, shooting things you can't see at home (not many beaches in Austin), and having to man up and brave the wind and rain in the pursuit of it all - just plain fun.  If you don't believe me, ask any photographer.

This shot is a 5 exposure HDR shot at f/11 with exposures bracketed from -2 to +2, which is pretty standard for a 5 shot HDR.  I created the HDR in Photomatix, then made adjustments in PSE (Curves, Contrast, Unsharp Mask) and then a few minor adjustments in Aperture.