If you have been following my blog you may (or may not) recall I spent a week in Olympic National Park at the end of July and every evening I went back to my favourite spot on Ruby Beach to attempt at getting the perfect sunset shot. I had explored most of the coast in the park and this was the spot on Ruby Beach that I thought was perfect for a panoramic and worth going back to again and again.
I shot all the sunsets on film so until now I hadn't seen the outcome and it wasn't until the 5th and final evening I was there that I got what I was looking for.
 |
| Sunset 1, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park |
The first evening I thought was a going to be a waste of film, it had been cloudy all day but there where some openings in the clouds that shone a little colour through as the sun set, I had already set up my camera so I thought I may as well take a shot. I knew that if I over-exposed a little and shot for 4 minutes I may get something interesting and moody happening in the clouds passing through the frame. I'm very glad I took this shot, I can't decide if it's my favourite or not. The clouds almost perfectly mimic the rocks below them and creates an atmospheric image.
 |
| Sunset 2, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park |
Day 2 was a very clear day so I knew I wouldn't get something unique, but again since I was there and ready I took this 4 second exposure with the sun glowing behind the middle rock before it set.
On Day 3 I thought I may have missed the best sunset. I was waiting nearby taking a nap after a long day exploring with my radio on and some batteries charging in the lighter socket, I fell asleep for longer than I intended to with 60 minutes to spare before sunset when I woke to find my car wouldn't start, I had drained the battery. So I sat and watched as the sunset came and went with some pretty colours. 5 minutes after the colour in the sky had gone a police man puled over and kindly gave me a jump start and I was on my way annoyed with myself I may have missed the only sunset on my visit to the park.
 |
| Sunset 4, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park |
Day 4 at the time I though for sure was the best one, the sky had a magnificent pink glow, but I didn't quite get the waves as I wanted to - in motion as the fell away from me. This was because at this point it was very dark meaning with my ISO 50 Velvia film I had to expose for 16 seconds giving me very blurry waves. At the time I didn't really know how it may turn out and thought it may be a winner, but I still found myself back here for my last night, just in case.
 |
| Sunset 5, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park |
This is my favourite for colour and the waves, but now on the 5th day you can see a big difference in my position from day 1 where I was quite close to the rocks. Sadly the tide had risen higher in the 5 days. Even in this spot I got soaked from the waves which were rising with every minute I waited, thankfully they weren't strong enough to knock over my camera.
This was a 1 second exposure on Fuji Provia Film. The only thing that would have made this shot better would be the closer position I had on day 1.
