There are often weather alerts for “sneaker waves” for the Monterey Bay coast where I live. Pacific Grove is a quiet small town, right on the coast that is often full of drama. Such was the case on a recent afternoon, so I took my camera with 70-200mm lens (medium telephoto) to see what wave splashes I could capture. When I took the above shot, about 100 shots into the time I was shooting, I knew immediately it was the shot I had been looking for, and that was even before I noticed the birds in it, which just added to the shot. I took a few more photos after that, but I knew I had gotten what I envisioned before even leaving the house. This is something very satisfying and recommended for any photographer, envision what photo you want to get before going out, and then when you get it, you will know.
Bird Rock is one of the best sunset viewing spots along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach California
There are many scenic viewing points along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California. I discovered Bird Rock because of a cycling group I was riding with stopped there one evening. Besides the great view, this lookout point has lots of parking and picnic tables and even a restroom. I decided to grab the camera and head out there, by car this time, to get a few shots of the sunset and twilightsky. It’s named Bird Rock for the big rock just offshore that is used as a rookery. Lots of birds were coming home from their day of work to spend the night on Bird Rock.
Catching a kind of rare sunset at Asilomar Beach in Pacific Grove
For a town on a peninsula surrounded by water, some of which faces west, Pacific Grove does not often have direct, to the horizon, sunsets. Various points make seeing west impossible over the water, and then of course there is the fog, especially in summer into early fall. So when the sun was shining an hour before actual sunset still, I grabbed my camera and headed to Asilomar Beach and was able to capture this rare to the horizon sunset! You never know when the next chance might come.
Stories from the city, stories from the Sea in Texas
It was my first time to see the Sea, or some part of it, in over 2 years, the longest such stretch of my life, and 2 years too long. Corpus Christi, Texas offers city and sea experiences, both of which you can drive right too. I had never driven on a beach before, as it is not the custom in Florida (I don’t count Daytona). It was both convenient to go a few miles down the shoreline to your own spot and have all your gear right there, but also disconcerting because a car could drive by you while relaxing on the beach! I brought my new DJI Mavic 3 Cine drone with me, and my new Sony 24mm f/1.4 G Master lens to capture these images. I really enjoyed the results of holding my camera low, with a slow shutter speed, and letting the small waves come in and create seascape dreamscapes.
If you asked me, I would tell you that a tripod is a must for making long exposure photos. In fact, I have already shared some long exposure ocean photos from San Diego featuring the Ocean Beach Pier that were all shot with my Nikon mounted on a tripod. That said, if getting a tack sharp image is not needed, handholding a slightly long exposure photo, especially with a lens that has VR (vibration reduction), can produce some very cool shots. The latter was the method I used to hold my Nikon right above the incoming water at Imperial Beach, San Diego, California at sunset. Why do a long exposure? Because it makes the water look like stretched out cotton. In the above shot you might easily think it was taken from a boat in deep water, when in reality it was me in less than ankle deep water letting that few inches of water whoosh past me as the camera’s shutter stayed open for 1/6th of a second.
Over the course of seven days staying in the Ocean Beach community in San Diego, California I went to visit the Ocean Beach Pier several times. It looked and felt different each time. I was there for a brilliant sunset. I was there as a storm approached. I was there when the pier was nearly completely empty, and when it was filled with people. I met a pelican. I walked it, and I rode a Bird (electric scooter) down it. I listened to the stories the ocean whispered as it passed under and around the pier.
San Diego and Ocean Beach in particular have many gems in them that may not appear on the front pages of many travel websites. Open up Google Maps and zoom in and you will see a place simply called Tide Pools. There are no signs in Ocean Beach pointing the way to them directly, and likewise no clear way of getting to them exactly. In fact one must scramble down a steep slope to a concrete wall, jump off it, and then there you are. Standing on a shore of black rock with all of the Pacific Ocean before you. It is quite a place to take in the sunset and get splashed by incoming waves! The tide pools are only visual, however, not like the ones I grew up exploring in New England that were full of aquatic life. Nevertheless, the Tide Pools of Ocean Beach, San Diego are a hidden gem worth finding.
