Beach – Page 7 – Decaseconds

Future Sunsets

2012-Jul-25 adohertyhLeave a comment

Brendan has previously posted a several of gorgeous shots of Half Moon Bay and its associated Pillar Point air force base. This particular shot shows a different kind of Cold War-era neurotic nostalgia that I find really enticing. On one hand, this young couple is gazing off at the family silhouetted in the sunset–a vision of their future. On the other hand, the radar dome of the Pillar Point AFS is a sinister reminder of Cold War-era threats from across the ocean. Taken together, I’d like to think it’s emblematic of the Californian experience for a lot of folks: promise and peril.

Relaxing afternoon on the beach

2012-May-292012-May-29 emceehammrLeave a comment

It’s great to be able to head to a beach like this, without the hustle and bustle of more accessible beaches, just to hang out and read a book to the soundtrack of the crashing waves.

La Jolla BBQ

2012-May-21 adohertyhLeave a comment

La Jolla Shores is one of my favorite beaches in the country (as I’ve posted before) in large part due to the incredible variety it presents. The northern end of the beach abuts Scripps and all manner of salt-encrusted concrete constructions; the southern end is home to the La Jolla Shores Hotel, and often has beach weddings. On the beach itself, swimmers stay on the southern end, while surfers dominate the northern half. Behind all of this is a little park, lined by palms, and if you go there in the evening, the smell of families barbequing is absolutely intoxicating.

Surf Sunset

2012-May-102012-May-08 emceehammrLeave a comment

Beaches are wonderful, no? The surf is so majestic.

Granada Fire Station

2012-May-08 emceehammrLeave a comment

This fire station is right across the street from the beach down in Half Moon Bay. It really adds to the small town vibe, and makes you forget for a second that this place is a destination.

Pillar Point AFS at Sunset

2012-Apr-25 emceehammr1 Comment

Just north of the hotel featured earlier this week is the Pillar Point Air Force Station on the north side of Pillar Point Harbor, itself just north of Half Moon Bay State Beach. This is home to a radar installation (the dome pictured in the background) which looks particularly impressive in the early evening on days like the day this photo was taken.

Tide Returns

2012-Apr-17 adohertyh1 Comment

This weekend, Brendan and I blitzed down to Half Moon Bay (or just north of it) to catch the sunset. The beach was arched and curving from the local currents, the waves were seriously up, and I got the camera on the tripod just in time to catch today’s shot.

Sand Fortress

2012-Feb-07 adohertyh5 Comments

To the adults at the beach, it was December: the light was fading fast, the wind was a bit chilly, and every surfer had a wet suit. To the kids, though, it was summer. A day at the beach is always a slice of summer, with the wave splashes and ambitious sand construction projects to prove it. With the camera down at “kid height,” the beach stretches on forever and I faced a contest in which serious consideration was given to who had created the most imposing edifice.

Curving Sky Matches Earth

2012-Jan-212016-Jul-15 adohertyhLeave a comment

The clouds finally cooperated while I was driving past a beach outside San Diego. I was chuffed at the degree to which the clouds matched the curvature of the hillside. The blue sky also makes a pretty stark contrast with the dull browns of winter-time southern California.

New Brighton State Beach

2012-Jan-202012-Jan-20 emceehammrLeave a comment

From the same set as my last post, this is a photo taken at New Brighton State Beach, this time a single shot HDR, again, showing the beauty of California’s central coast. That is, aside from the lens flare.

The Palo Alto

2012-Jan-182012-Apr-25 emceehammrLeave a comment

This is an old one of mine that I thought would be nice to put up on the blog. Pictured is the Palo Alto, a concrete ship sunk off of Seacliff State Beach, as shot from New Brighton State Beach. I would highly recommend a drive down California’s Central Coast for anyone looking for some great photo ops!

Scripps Sky

2012-Jan-162012-Jan-16 adohertyhLeave a comment

A recent trip to San Diego gave me a chance to wander around the gorgeous La Jolla Shores neighborhood, home of UC San Diego and the Scripps institute. The salty air on the beach really speeds the degradation of structures; when you take that in combination with the minimalist concrete structures favored by UCSD, you can get some really dystopian looks. When you combine this with the traditionally “idyllic” beach, it makes for a disturbing contrast.

Waves and Rocks Dwarf Man

2012-Jan-122016-Jul-15 adohertyh1 Comment

The coast near Pacifica, California has some gorgeous, craggily coastline. All kinds of people were out walking their dogs; if I were a little braver, I would have gone over to shoot portraits of them, as well. Still, composing everyone together into a landscape produced a pretty satisfying result. The old man on the log looks more idyllic than I could have hoped.

I was initially disappointed that it was such a misty evening, but the upside was that the contrast was lowered to the point where I could produce HDR images from a single RAW photo.