The last several weekends here in Southern California the marine layer has been thick and the sky has been very hazy; especially with several fires burning. The Santa Clarita Sand Fire that started Friday, July 22 is now 98% contained. In the early days of the fire I could stand in my driveway and see the huge clouds of smoke and red in the sky from the fire. I must admit I was a little worried. Unfortunately, one life was lost, 18 homes burned and over  41,000 acres burned.

Despite the thick marine layer and cloudless sky, I was determined to take some pictures at the beach last Saturday. I packed my gear and headed to Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway. There was a really nice breeze at the beach and the tide was low but not low enough to walk to the caves. I must make a trip back to explore the caves. Lots of tide pools, sea life and surfers riding the waves. 

The below picture was taken as the sun was setting. I used the Lee Little Stopper Neutral Density Filter which reduces the exposure by 6-stops and allows me to shoot longer shutter speeds. Shooting long exposures is a favorite of mine!! The settings for this picture are F/16, 24mm, ISO 100 and 15 seconds. Photo taken with the Nikon D800 and Nikon 24-70mm F/2.8 lens.

You can read information about Lee Filters on their website at http://www.leefilters.com.