Pacific Grove Fine Art Photographer
There is a stretch of coastline at Asilomar Beach where, at the right time of day, small pools form between the rocks and begin to reflect the sky.
During sunset, those reflections shift quickly—light softens, colors deepen, and the line between ocean, sky, and foreground starts to blur.
These images were made while moving slowly through that space, focusing less on the wide scene and more on the smaller, quieter moments happening at ground level.
Read MoreA networking event at Monterey Airport was winding down. I was about to leave with fellow PG Chamber Ambassador VJ (owner of Monterey Car Company) when he said let’s go check out this area down a long, empty hallway. We discovered a viewing deck to the runway! In the twilight light passengers were boarding a plane. The railing was pretty high, so I had to hold my camera up over my head to get a clear photo. After a couple of attempts, I was able to get this one with the composition I wanted, a level horizon and since I could not clear the railing in the frame, I decided to use it as a leading line into the photo frame itself.
I have only flown once in the past 16 years, and it was in fact from Monterey Airport, but I do not remember seeing a viewing deck or my own plane boarding experience so this all felt like seeing a secret world I had no idea existed in the Monterey area. It is also a good feeling that “finding” a photo like this can still excite the old photographer side of me. I am glad to now share it.
My oldest and best friend, Terry, made another visit to Pacific Grove recently. On a spectacular February afternoon, we went back to Carmel Meadows Trail, a place we first visited when he helped me move to the area. We did not hike far after finding a bench with the view you see above. The view was just stunning, and we both just enjoyed some quiet contemplation time as the fog rolled in below the setting sun. Just one of the many, amazing, and totally free places along the Monterey coast one can enjoy an afternoon unlike anywhere else in the world.
Read MoreSometimes I get ideas in my head of a photo I would like to make before I even walk out the door. On this recent Saturday evening, as January 2026 was about to conclude, I also still needed a photo made in January to include in my future January 2027 Pacific Grove Fine Art Photo Calendar. I had an idea of getting a photo of Lover’s Point Park near sunset time from the west of it, and using my Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master telephoto lens for a certain perspective and compressed view of the park. Well, where is that photo in this blog post? The light was not what I expected, for one, so the photo I went out looking to make was only so-so. However, I stumbled upon the Winter Moon rising so turned my focus onto getting images of that. Since my 70-200mm lens is not a super long telephoto lens, and thus I could not fill the frame with a photo of the moon itself, I decided to add out of focus foreground elements to some of the photos, and then add foreground and background layers to others. A boat even cooperated and cruised by for a photo too!
Read MoreWhen I started walking Asilomar Beach with my camera one evening in October in albeit fading daylight, but daylight still, I did not know I would end up getting photos of the moon with fog rolling in that to me, even seeing it as soon as I made the photo, look like a Universal Pictures 1930s movie set still frame. When I look at this photo I expect to see the silhouette of the Wolf Man slink across it! Having unusual weather and foreground elements help get unique photos of the moon, that can otherwise all look the same.
Read MoreWhat is a neutral density (ND) filter and why am I so excited to finally own one?? Well, it is a piece of glass that screws onto the front of a camera lens that is like a very, very dark pair of sunglasses. The ND filter greatly restricts how much light comes through the lens, onto the camera sensor. Using typical daylight or twilight camera shooting settings, the ND filter would result in just a black rectangle, totally underexposed! However, this then allows the photographer to keep the shutter open for a long time, for a long exposure photo which means, the moving ocean water becomes like cotton candy. Clouds get spread out across the sky. That is how I was able to make these photos you see here, by leaving the shutter open for 30 seconds. Without the ND filter on, the photos would just be white rectangles, totally overexposed. So I call these types of photos not merely landscape photography, but I think more descriptively, dreamscape photography. Then again, I am a daydreamer!
Read MoreI would not normally photograph a seagull. I do not often photograph birds in general as I only have a 70-200mm lens, which is great for my commercial photography work, but not exactly the lens you would use if you are into bird photography. However, this seagull was not far from me, and seemed to be wanting me to make its photograph, so I did! Thank you for the sassy head turn seagull!
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