Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park on film

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.