Waves within Waves

Artwork ID # 2306-39125-31

While enjoying a very early morning walk ( the sun had not yet risen ) around Soberanes Point, on the Big Sur coast of California, I was surrounded by waves. I decided to sit here and remain in one place so I could better experience the standing and flowing rhythms of sea and stone. And simply listen to the sounds of the sea which seemed to come from every direction simultaneously.
From this perspective I became aware of and able to see the flow patterns of waves within and between succesive breaks. I then set up my camera and tripod and choose a lens focal length which seemed to best frame and convey the feelings and emotions I was aware of while observing from this specific viewpoint.
Next I had to deal with how the particular dimensions of time I experienced during these observations would best be conveyed.
That required an estimate of which camera shutter speed would best allow a visual description of the peculiar flow patterns on the surface of very turbulent water.
Taking precise light EV ( exposure value ) readings with a separate hand-held light meter calibrated to measure one-degree of surface reflectance within each carefully chosen spot in the over all frame.

The fact that I was using a positive transparency film required me to precisely control the brightest areas, since transparency films had a very narrow latitude or tolerance for overexposure in highlight areas before all detail in those areas would burn-out and be lost.
And next I had to decide on which lens aperture or f/stop would provide the depth-of-field ( clear detail from front to back of frame area ) to match my feeling of how space would be rendered from that precise viewpoint.
I chose a shutter speed of 5 seconds which I desperately hoped would result in almost seemingly frozen areas of moving water ( which would reveal the apparent details of shapes and forms of a section of moving water ) while at the same time result in a blurred, softer form conveying a feeling of motion in nearby water surfaces - and all within the same, single film frame.

From Wilderness Series Archive - "An ARCHIVE of every WILDERNESS SERIES image"