Pacific Coast Portfolio

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Surf, La Jolla, CA
Sailboats on the Horizon, San Luis Obispo, CA
Rocks and Mist, Big Sur, CA
Rocks at Sunset, Big Sur, CA
Rocks, Pebbles,  Mist, on Beach Big Sur, CA
Cracked Sand, Oceano, CA
Seaweed and Kelp, Big Sur, CA
Pelican on Rock, Sunset, Corona Del Mar, CA
Abstract in Rock, Big Sur, CA
Six Pilings, Elliot Bay, WA
Stormclouds at Sunset, Victoria Beach, CA
Big Sur Coast, CA
Stormclouds, South Laguna Beach, CA
Monolith, Morro Bay, CA
Twisted Rocks, Big Sur, CA
Hog Island, Tomales Bay, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
The Pacific Coast

I am so fortunate to live in California and so near the pacific Coast. From San Diego and Torrey Pines in the south, through the Big Sur in central California, to the Coastal Redwoods in Northern California, and finally to Oregon and Washington State's coast, there is so much to see and photograph.
 
I have photographed the Big Sur coast several times and find that sunset provides the best lighting for me, as seen in "Rocks at Sunset, Big Sur, CA". The setting sun silhouettes the rocks in the water, and the water gets a soft glow from the long exposures required in the low light. The sun was setting behind some low clouds that gives a dramatic sky to the scene.
 
The sand, cliffs and boulders on the beaches also provide many photographic opportunities to make abstracts ("Cracked Sand, Oceano, CA"). I found the sand  “cracking” at the beach in Pismo and thought it would make an interesting pattern image. The cliffs near Big Sur had a pattern that looked like a stylized horse head to me ("Abstract in Rock, Big Sur, CA "). Another great place to photograph along the northern California coast is in Redwoods National Park .