Ocean waves, mist and light streamed through the portal in the Tafoni sandstone formation on a clear and warm January evening at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur. No HDR. (though at this place, it could help when pointing towards the sun in the portal.)

The light is especially good when it is sunny but with a bit of mist from the huge waves behind the rock wafting through the hole. On this evening, the slight breeze alternated between onshore and offshore. When it would blow offshore, the mist would get sucked through the hole and the light-beam effect would disappear. At high tide, it is like a water canon and those rocks are slippery so watch out!