Rocks of La Jolla

On one of my mornings in Southern California I got up bright and early to create some images of some of the rocks in the cove at La Jolla. Hoping for a pink lovely sunrise instead I got fog. Which was fine because it just created more of a dark mood in the images I wanted to make. I placed my camera on a tripod for some long exposures to blur out the motion of the waves and water. Here are a selection of my favorites. God's Light and Love to all, chris

Heermann's Gull

One of the delights I found on the beaches in Southern California were the Heermann's Gulls. They are found in abundance down there. I do see them along the coast in northern California just not in such profusion. They are just beautiful close up when you are on your belly in the sand looking them eye to eye. I just love those colorful red bills! God's blessings to all, chris

In the Shadow of the City

One of the crown jewels of the Los Angeles area is Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach. While not very big this area should be considered one of the best areas of LA for birdlife. This was only my second visit there and the weather wasn't great but it was still a marvelous place to photograph birds. Although I walked about 2/3rdsof the trails on the refuge my favorite spot was the pedestrian bridge next to the parking lot. While I enjoyed the trails I didn't like the fact that they were all raised on levees forcing you to shoot down on too much of an angle when photographing. The pedestrian bridge never lacked for activity and there were plenty of birds to photograph as they flew back and forth down the slough. I photographed there three mornings and all of them were foggy except for the last day when I had a window of about a half an hour of sunshine.I would love to photograph there during the prime time in winter! God's light and love to all, chris

Thinking Spot

Towards the end of summer things can start to get a little crazy. We realize that there are too many home improvement projects that need to be done before the rains of winter come. Between painting and cleaning I've been working on images from our trip to southern California and a friends wedding. Here is a stock image from Southern California that I finished up this evening. I love the contemplative, thinking mood of this image from La Jolla Cove It really appeals to me. God's blessings, chris

Second Time Around

Last night I was taking a break from processing images by looking through some of my older image files and I ran across a stock image that I had created some years ago. In looking at it I realized that it could be dramatically improved. So I worked with it for a little while and made some definite improvements to the image. If you like wine we have some incredible wineries in Mendocino County where I live in addition to the spectacular Redwood Coast. Now back to processing images from my trip to Southern California God bless, chris

Surf Casting in the South

Last week on a foggy evening in Southern California we managed to squeeze in some surf fishing on Ponto Beach in Carlsbad. Our intrepid guide was my brother in law Rich. He provided us with an ultralight rod and reel with some plastic grub like critters for lures. The technique was pretty basic you would cast the grub out into the surf and reel it in slowly. Between catches of kelp and a self launching rod tip Annika, Jay and Rich managed to catch and release a few Surf Perch, Barred Surf Perch and a Corbina. The perch were quite the fighters on such small tackle. A great time was had by all. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Harbor Seals of La Jolla

No journey to San Diego would be complete without a visit to the Harbor Seal colony at Casa Beach also known as Children's Pool or Children's Beach in La Jolla. No matter what name you call it the Harbor Seal viewing opportunities are just superb. It's beauty doesn't come without controversy. Legal problems abound between the City of San Diego and other Federal and State Organizations as well as recreational groups and environmental groups as well. Many groups want the seals there and others want them removed stating that they limit recreational pursuits and make the water unsafe due to high levels of bacteria from seal excrement. it's a very complex issue. In the meantime I'll just enjoy watching the seals. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Catch a Wave

Photographing surfers is a lot of fun. Whenever I'm in Southern California I always make an attempt to spend some time photographing them. Luckily most California beaches are perfect for photographing in early morning light. It's still a hit or miss thing depending upon the morning fog.One morning I got off to an early start and went to Cardiff by the Sea worked my way northward to Swami's and Grandview and I finally settled on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas due to the fact that it has a great beach break that is close in and is perfect for photographing with a 400 millimeter lens. It was wonderful that there was no shortage of surfers. It was nice to see a lot of young kids surfing as well. One young man in a green and black wetsuit was exceptionally good. I must say I had a superb time. God's love to all, chris