Postcard from Morro Bay

You are looking at my one and only decent photo of a beach sunset on this last vacation. I spent four nights on the California Coast, from Morro Bay to Monterey. And this was the only night (and day for that matter) that the ocean wasn’t shrouded in fog.

After two nights in Morro Bay, I drove all the way to Monterey along California’s beautiful Highway One and never saw the ocean. It was fog, fog, fog, the whole way. I eventually got out of the fog around Big Sur, but only when I was inland from the ocean. As soon as the road led me back to the coast, there was the fog again. Oh well…sometimes that is just how it is.

But back to this photo. I spent part of this day scouting locations for a great sunset shot, only to discover that the beaches around Morro Bay were not photographer friendly. Oh, they are lovely and beachcombers do love them, but it is miles and miles of endless beach with no other elements to make a great shot at sunset.

I take that back…I did find a few elements that might make an interesting photo, but those locations were blocked off any kind of access. I also found a good location to photograph the famous Morro Rock with some rolling sand dunes in front, but as sunset approached, I realized the light was all wrong and the giant rock was not going to get any sunset light.

Still I persevered and wandered along the beach looking for something interesting. Finally, I saw some surfers walking along the beach, heading home after a day riding the waves. I got lucky and managed to get this one shot that included them and the setting sun. On this day, I took whatever I could get…and I think it turned out OK.

If there is a lesson here, it is never give up when looking for that one good photograph. Sometimes it just comes out of the blue and you grab it while you can. Oh wait, there is another lesson…try to avoid photo expeditions to the Central California beaches in the summer months.

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

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