At The Edge of Land and Water
It is fun to slow down the camera shutter speed and capture the different patterns as the waves strike the rocks. Of course, you also need to be careful about water splashes as it only takes a few drops of water on the lens to ruin the capture. It is quite often that I have come back from a similar shoot only to find the images messed up simply because in my excitement, I forgot to wipe the lens clean.
Another beautiful sunset at El Matador Beach.
Sunset at Bandon Beach
It was quite an experience getting to this spot and even more so on the way back as the tide was coming in and almost at waist level by the time we waded out to safety.
I really looked forward to the sunrises during our stay in Carrabelle especially when clouds were predicted in the forecast. This morning, the forecast was for overcast skies and I almost slept in but at the last minute decided to get out of bed and take a peak. It was then a mad rush to get out to location. Luckily, this tree was close to our campground and was waiting patiently for me.
Another composition from an evening at El Matador State Park in California. Also got blessed with some nice color in the skies.
I was starting to get overwhelmed with the number of images on my hard drives and not having worked on them in an organized fashion. After a great amount of procrastination, I have come with a plan to start from the beginning, and the starting point is 2013 (emoji). Here is an image from a trip I took on Hwy 1, Central Coast, California. This was one of the rare days during the trip with a beautiful sunset gracing us at the end of the day. Interestingly, we are spending a couple of months in the Pismo Beach area so there will be a great opportunity to further explore the wonderfully rugged Hwy 1 coastline.
The sea stacks at El Matador State Park can present an interesting foreground at sunset. However, hoping to catch clouds lit up under the right tide conditions proved to be a bit of a challenge. Most of the one hour trips yielded blue skies or completely overcast skies until this day when everything came together.
A beautiful sunset at Seal Rock. It was pretty neat to capture the waves crashing over the cliffs
Another colorful sunrise during our stay in Carrabelle, FL
The sunsets at Carrabelle were typically more muted compared to the spectacular sunrises often observed here. Many attempts at sunset photography ended up feeling meh except for this evening when conditions came right with the low tide creating beautiful waves in the sand. This was early winter so the setting sun direction behind the forest worked out well for this image in my opinion.
There was a single seagull sitting on top the sea stack enjoying the sunset. The view must have been mesmerizing enough that it stood still for the entire 20 second long exposure.
The sunrises at Carabelle, Florida could present a different look each morning. Being winter but still warm it was relatively easy to wakeup 'early' each morning of a new spectacle unfolding. This was a low tide morning with amazing colors and reflections as the sky lit up an amazing color this morning.
A dramatic and beautiful sunset at El Matador State Park in California.
A beautiful sunset at Ruby Beach as the tide was coming in
I had a great time photographing the beautiful coastline at Cape San Blas, FL. A short hike along the beach led to the Donna Kay, an abandoned shrimp boat that ran aground shortly before Hurricane Michael made landfall. Attempts to remove her have been unsuccessful; she may become a permanent fixture on this remote stretch of beach in the Florida Panhandle.
The memory of this morning is etched forever in my mind as these beautiful clouds rolled in and were lit up by the arising sun. Some of the fishermen were equally sincere about getting up early each morning to catch their fish.
I found this location hard to photograph partly because I was slithering over wet slippery rocks with a heavy camera backpack. Also being new to an ultrawide angle lens in 2013, it was hard to find a good composition in the quickly dwindling light.
It started out as a fairly bland sunrise with only a few clouds in the distant horizon. However, the calm water during low tide was still very inviting and I was enjoying photographing the reflections and sand waves as the sun rose. In the meantime, clouds were quietly drifting in and before you know it the sky was suddenly aflame with beautiful golden colors.
A beautiful sunset at Bandon Beach
Sunset at Bandon Beach
I did make one trip to St. Marks State Park as the lockdown restrictions were starting to ease up. It is a beautiful and peaceful state park with plenty of hiking and bird viewing opportunities. The lighthouse is worthy of exploration as well but was closed at the time of my visit. It is one of the most photographed landmarks on the Gulf coast and the second oldest lighthouse in Florida, and the oldest on the Gulf coast. The current tower was completed in 1842.
It was another beautiful sunrise near our campground in Carrabelle, Florida. There was a fleeting moment when this bird showed up right in front of me making the moment even more special.