Sunday, January 24, 2016
Sunset Surf

My wife and I spent this evening walking on Butterfly Beach. The view was spectacular as always, but this particular sunset coincided nicely with an extremely low tide making for a large beach with lots of rocks to turn over and interesting things to see. And of course plenty of room for every imaginable kind of dog to race after balls stopping only for a second to get a scratch behind the ears from us. (I'm pretty sure they can sense dog people) Since our recent winter storms the surf has been higher than usual, so there was something for everyone tonight. The best part for me was enjoying it all with my best friend!

Thursday, November 27, 2014
Cannery Row View

Happy Thanksgiving from Cannery Row, Monterey! Ahh the beach, just one of the many things to be thankful for. I hope your blessings are too many to count! Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, March 13, 2014
Bixby Creek Coastline Big Sur

Bixby Creek Coastline in Big Sur on Pacific Coast Highway. Whenever I'm in Monterey I like to take a day to drive down Highway 1. There is no end of beautiful things to see, and every day is absolutely unique. This day was virtually cloudless, but there was still enough fog over the water and mist from the waves to give the late afternoon sun some nice golden color.

Sunday, November 24, 2013
Moonlit Bluff

Butterfly Beach lit only by the light of the full moon rising on the horizon and the faint fading glow of the sunset.

Monday, October 7, 2013
Pacific Grove Sunset

In every city I spend much time, I always end up with my favorite spots where I try to end up at the end of the day. This is Asilomar Beach in Pacific Grove on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula. Some days the waves are huge and breathtaking, other days the sun slides down past the horizon peacefully, but every evening it's a wonderful show.

Friday, September 6, 2013
Moonlit Butterfly Beach

Buterfly Beach by the light of the full moon.

Friday, May 24, 2013
Harbor Lights

Hanging around the Santa Barbara Harbor in the evenings this time of year is not only wonderful for photography, but it's a nice cool place... literally! We've had quite a few hot days lately, and the harbor and wharf are my favorite places on a hot day.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Blue Moonrise

Once in a blue moon... The full moonrise is quite a sight to see in itself, the moon on the horizon looks so large and beautiful. But on an evening like this there is actually enough light reflected by the amazing moon to photograph our beautiful landscapes and beaches. The cool lighting gives the beach a completely different feel from only an hour before when the sunset glow bathed it in warmth.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Bridal Veil Stream

The stream below Bridal Veil Falls in Oregon along the Columbia River Highway.

Thursday, August 12, 2010
Starry Night Over Butterfly Beach

This is an extremely long exposure just after dark at Butterfly Beach. Even by moonlight our beaches are beautiful, but most of the details of the rocks and the sand were not even visible to the naked eye.

Friday, October 23, 2009
Nojoqui Falls Rock Shelter

This little cave-like formation is common at the bottom of a waterfall. The churning of the water easily erodes the rock more quickly than the falling water down the face of the waterfall. I would imagine it would be a much more violent and dangerous place in the middle of a rain storm. But I'll bet it's a spectacular sight!

Sunday, February 1, 2009
Secluded Cove

Today we took a drive down Highway 1 to look for a place called Jade cove. It is always a beautiful drive and we usually stop at various parks in Big Sur but this time we found everything on the east side of Highway 1 closed. They had some massive fires last year and they still have not reopened the parks.

Luckily all the vista points on the beach side were still open. This is just south of Big Sur at a vista point looking south along the coast.

Probably good we did not stop that often anyway, Jade cove was a lot further than we expected, almost twenty miles further. And if you have ever been on Highway 1, twenty miles can be a long way especially this time of year when they are just barely keeping parts of it passable.

Saturday, April 26, 2008
San Simeon Sunset

This was taken the evening before my VR Highway 1 Sunset, just a little further up Highway 1. If you turned around from where we were standing you could almost see the top of Hearst Castle in the hills.

Of course if you looked to the left... and I apologize in advance for ruining the tranquil California sunset day dream you're having right now... there were a bunch of Elephant Seals. And they were quite loud and very comical. I'm sure I have a few shots of them to get on-line soon.

Now back to the regularly scheduled day dream... Right up the road, a little closer to the lighthouse is a scenic point that has less seals, and when we were there they were just laying enjoying the evening sea breeze. One had her flipper over her baby like she was hugging it. So if you'd rather picture yourself there that would work too. :-D

Saturday, December 30, 2006
Happy Seals

The guy in the center looks really happy! Nice whiskers too.

The swirls in the water at the left really make this photo interesting to me.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Basking Butterfly

At one point I knew what kind of butterfly this was. But it's name escapes me at the moment. And, if you have ever searched the Internet for butterflies you know there are about a million different kinds which makes identification a bit difficult.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Shadow Puppets

The Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens is a beautiful place. Never a shortage of subjects. But, I wonder if the plants get bored when the gates close and everyone goes home. At least they can entertain themselves making shadow puppets on the rocks.

The fern is doing his impression of a Norfolk Pine.

Monday, August 15, 2005
Basking Seals

More "Sea Bassets!

Sunday, May 15, 2005
Cactus Garden

Lotusland is an amazing place. The result of one person's love of plants. Now it is open to the public (by reservation). There are gardens of all kinds, not just it's namesake flowers. Some, like this cactus garden, are new since the garden's benefactor, Ganna Walska, passed away. It has been a wonderful place for a photographer, rich with subjects you would never see in the wild.

• Lotusland
• Photo of the Day March, 31. "Lotusland, Cactus Blossoms"
• Photo of the Day February, 15. "Lotusland, Lantern"
• Photo of the Day February, 1. "Lotusland, Peaceful Spot"

Saturday, May 7, 2005
Santa Barbara Sandpiper

These guys are fun to watch on the beach, sometimes they seem to forget they can fly as they run from the waves. I particularly like the perspecive of this shot. I got down more at his (her?) level and it made for a much more interesting photo.

Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Beach Rock

Some pictures are all about the timing. I like the fact that the close side of the rock is dry. I took a couple more pictures on the next waves, but they are not quite as cool 'cause the rock was already wet.

Saturday, January 29, 2005
Ventura Sunset

Before I lived in Santa Barbara when we visited here this was one of our favorite stops on the way home. It is a nice beach in Ventura about 30 minutes south of Santa Barbara. At the beach end of this pier is a great Seafood restaurant called Eric Ericsons.