Chantelle Polley, The Build-Up (PLACES 2023)

Sydney's summer of high humidity brought some incredible cloud formations and storms to our coastline. I captured this shot of Mahon Pool at Maroubra just as the setting sun broke through a gap in the approaching storm clouds to light up the waves. I chose a 6-second exposure to smooth the waves and keep textural contrast against the imposing clouds, which looked like they were going to drop to earth at any moment. Canon EOS R, RF24-105mm lens, ISO200, f/6.3, 6secs, ND filter.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.