Two years ago I wrote about traveling to San Diego for my son’s birthday. There, I took a few black and white minimalist photos of glass lamps.
In 2025, we decided to go to Monterey. I published my Minimalism in Monterey post bout that trip . This year, we decided to go back.
Monterey is a 2-1/2-4 hour drive from Sacramento, depending on traffic. My series Monterey Trees has been entirely shot there. On April 6, 2026, however, I did not try to photograph those beautiful cypresses, opting to practice some long exposure and take photos of the ocean. The day was beautiful, the ocean was calm and translucent.
I did take my Nikon D-750, which I have told everyone already, that I am not going to replace any time soon, with the 16-35mm f/1.4. I also took my Z50 with my 24-70 mm f/2.8. In a previous post I explained why I replaced my Z50 with another one!
For long exposure, I used my Lee filters with the camera mounted on a tripod. Although graduated filters are becoming a thing of the past as new software advancements allow for easy masking of the sky, in order to slow the shutter speed in the presence of a lot of light, “stoppers” are still necessary.
Using a 6-stop filter, I was able to completely burr the water with a shutter speed of 13′. To help achieve that, I closed the lens at f/18 and set the ISO at 100, the minimum for the Z50.
Notice how the FEATURED PHOTOGRAPH has a dreamy cast and look, which is reinforced by the slightly blurred, ghost-like birds.
Compare this with the photo below, without the filters, same f/18, ISO 100 but shutter speed 1/4s.
I often prefer a little more movement than in the FEATURED PHOTOGRAPH. The photo below, shutter speed 2.5s and the other settings remaining unchanged, yielded a more dynamic photograph but still with a relaxing element.
If you would like an introduction to Lee Filters, watch this video.
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Wall Art landscapes and miscellaneous
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It is all about the light 
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