Fall 2015 California Coast Photo Workshop Recap
I recently moved up north to the Seattle area after living in Santa Cruz, California for over 18 years. So, returning to teach the 2015 Fall California Coastal workshop was literally a “coming back home” trip for me.
Our weekend of coastal photography started off with an informal get together at Natural Bridges where we had a absolutely pleasant November sunset. And as tradition would have it, we finished the evening with some thick pies at Upper Crust Pizza. Yum!
Friday, we started off with a sunrise overlooking the Monterey Bay above Panther Beach. The layered, rocky shelves below, and some warm light on the bluffs marked our first morning. Afterwards, we headed to the lone stack in front of the sleepy, coastal town of Davenport before our midday break. For the evening, we went to Panther Beach to photograph the interesting rock formations before another clear, but once more, beautiful sunset. Since the skies remained clear, I decided to make a stop at Shark Fin Cove with the group for some moon and star photography. Photographing at night provides its own challenges and techniques and often it is difficult to get clarity in the sky along the coast.
Saturday, we started off at Four Mile Beach with some nice morning light and decent surf to complement the high tide. We then headed off to Bean Hollow for some exploration of the sandstone shelves and tafoni formations to work on smaller scenes. After lunch, we made a visit to Pebble Beach with its signature multi-colored stones. But with clouds building, the hopes of a nice sunset were literally on the horizon. With the recent reopening of Martin’s Beach near Half Moon Bay, I decided to take the group to the secluded little cove with one of the most interesting rock formations on the central coast. Our final sunrise was also a new location fir this workshop, the bluffs above Bonny Doon beach, where we were treated to a superbly wonderful farewell sunrise!
Thank you so much to Pat, Ratnesh, Ming, and Ken. Elisabeth and I had a lot of fun with you and hope to see you all again soon!
~Jim
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