The arch opening in the rock formation just offshore from Pfeiffer Beach creates opportunities for dramatic images, but the great dynamic range of light poses a challenge. The interior of the arch is in complete shadow while the waves, foam and rock face are in direct sun. The camera can’t capture detail in both the shadows and the highlights. This capture is a RAW image exposed at 1/400th of a second at f/5 in order to freeze the action of the wave. The RAW image was reprocessed two more times, two stops above and two below the original. The resulting three images were combined into a High Dynamic Range image with Photomatix Pro.