From high above Montara State Beach, California, one can see the final stretches of Martini Creek as it winds toward the Pacific Ocean

Just let it go. That’s the way I felt when soaking in this sublime scene of Martini Creek flowing into the Pacific Ocean at sunset (located in Montara State Beach, near Pacifica, California). So that’s the way I approached the post-processing of this piece, too. Specifically, the highlights. All too often, photographers spend hours upon hours obsessing over “controlling” the highlights, or bringing them down in brightness. I’m as guilty as anyone, and sometimes it certainly is necessary, since our eyes can observe a much wider dynamic range than the camera. But on this day, even to my, eye, the highlights were blown. The sun was piercingly bright. So why try to fight it? Just let it go.

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