It is Friday again and the weekend is upon us. I have not made photography plans yet, the forecast says that it will be sunny everywhere. Definitely not a good forecast for photography.
I have been to the Marin Headlands a number of times, and those who follow me on Instagram might have seen a few photos I took at that place. And even though I have photographed the three rocks below several times and again, it was only last Saturday that I saw the Mermaid’s face.
Location: Coastal trail at the Marin Headlands, Sausalito, California, USA;
Equipment: Nikon D750, AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm F2.8, Lee Filters (Polarizer, 6 stops); tripod;
Settings: 200 mm f/20, 5”, ISO 50;
Tips: Get there early. The Marin Headlands is a very popular place, and it gets really full of people. Take different grades of neutral density filters to the photoshoot: the light in this location changes fast, from overcast and dark to bright and sunny. When doing long exposure of the ocean, don’t be scanty, take many pictures with the same settings and vary the camera’s settings also. It is better to sort things out at home than to miss that especial moment when the waves do just the right thing.
It is all about the light 
This is really beautiful and I love the way the ocean and mist swirls around her (see you have me believing she IS a mermaid!) it very much reminds me of Face Rock in Bandon (https://www.themandagies.com/face-rock-state-scenic-viewpoint-bandon-oregon/)
Anyway, that one looks like a ‘wall hanger’ to me.
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Bandon “only” eight hours from here with the most beautiful scenic highway from Brooklings. I need to go! Thanks, Howard.
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Well if you ever decide to maybe you can do it at a time I’m in Oregon and we can shoot together.
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That would be awesome!
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Brookings I think is about 2.5 hours south of here and also beautiful. Would knock some time off your drive. Would be a lot of fun. I get together often with a guy I know from Eugene when I’m here a good deal to shoot with as well. Nice to combine my work here with photographing though it’s a long way from home
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So beautiful. How far up are you? When I first saw the picture, without reading your description, I imagined you were on top of a high peak looking across at other, smaller, mountains.
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Thank you. I don’t really know how high this cliff is, I am terrible at judging distances, but I didn’t have to climb or anything. Maybe 30 feet above the sea level. California coast is mostly ridges and the ocean below, except for the occasional beach.
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I didn’t initially see the head, but rather imagined a satellite photograph of a hurricane, given the rounded shape of the main lit-up area of clouds.
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🤔 I can see that now also.
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