Laguna Beach after a Storm | Laguna Beach, CA

There are some days when shooting sunset seascapes is a safe bet: high cirrus clouds, with warm air and cool water temperatures. And then there are complete unknowns, usually the riskier, the bigger the reward or failure. This was one of those days. 

All-day rain had just broke about an hour before sunset, and from my office about 10 miles from the beach, I couldn't tell if it was the end of it (clear skies and lingering clouds), or just a lull in the action (with more clouds killing any sunset). Undecided, I broke from my usual pessimism and headed for the shore. Sure enough, I was greeted by one of the best sunsets I've had the privilege of capturing, with sun setting behind and below just the right mix of high and low clouds, at the tail end of the only weather we'd probably see for months in SoCal. 

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Equipment/process:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Tokina 12-24 f/4 AT-X Pro
Cokin Z-Pro filter holder
Hitech 0.6 SE graduated ND filter, 0.6 HE graduated ND filter
Manfrotto tripod
Remote shutter release
Clear umbrella

20mm, f/4, 1.0 sec, ISO 50
Levels, temperature, contrast adjusted in Adobe Photoshop Raw Converter
Two shots manually merged, skewed, cropped in Adobe Photoshop
Sharpened, re-sized

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