AUGUST 1988 – A long exposure at night shows the giant waves of the Atlantic Ocean crushing the coastline cliffs close to Aljezur, Portugal. Photo Copyright © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
My 1988 trip to Portugal lasted for six weeks, and it was probably one of my best vacations, ever. When we stayed at the Atlantic Coast, one evening I wanted to capture the coastline in a couple of looong exposures. So we drove to a spot that would offer a beautiful view across the cliffs and tried various exposure times. It was all analog back then, and negatives, because I had not yet switched to slide film.
This image was the best of the series, and while I published a fresh scan from the original print in 2021 I stumbled upon the negative while cleaning up the archive. I could not resist to edit that negative. It had far less spots and scratches and also looks more sharp than the relatively tiny 7×10 cm print. While it cannot compete with modern digital photography, I like the look and composition of the photo. The motions of the waves have been perfectly blurred and it has that dreamy color gradient of pale gold going into light blue.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | August 1988 |
| Location | Aljezur, Portugal |
| Camera | Canon AE-1 Program |
| Lens | Canon FD 28mm 1/2.8 |
| Image Source | Negative Film |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 4120 x 6508 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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