Ocean – Page 2 – Decaseconds

Resilient Tree at Sunset

2016-Sep-28 adohertyhLeave a comment

Of all the plant phyla, I’ve always felt a particular affinity for the conifers. Those spiny softwood survivors have a diverse yet particular set of aromatic compounds that accompany them; I can chart a lot of happy memories to pine or cypress groves and their applied organic chemistry. Starting on the east coast, through the midwest, and finding myself in grad school on the west coast meant contact with a lot of different species. These ocean-wind-sculpted examples from Pacifica, California are particularly dramatic.

Surf and Surf

2016-Sep-08 emceehammrLeave a comment

North Carolina has beaches for miles.

California Coast II

2016-Sep-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

Looking back on some of my earliest shots of the California coastline this evening: Light-leaked soft blues and golds are the colors. Is the soundtrack the jangle of surf music guitars or just the crashing of waves?

Rough Coast

2016-Jul-22 adohertyh2 Comments

California coastline is so much bumpier and more dramatic than the eastern locations I grew up with. Can you spot the two tiny people on the left cliff, overlooking the water? Nothing like a couple of tiny people to provide a sense of scale.

Another California Coastline

2016-Jul-13 adohertyhLeave a comment

Coastlines are so common in stretches of California that they are just a bit mundane. The subdivisions and mid-twentieth-century houses along the shore just don’t seem exotic or strange enough for a “special” place. Seeing a picture like this one makes mid-80s synths play in my head.

Cliffs at La Jolla Shores

2016-Jun-08 adohertyhLeave a comment

La Jolla Shores is a righteous beach: good swimming, okay surfing (I’m told), and excellent Southern California sights. As mid-twentieth-century architecture has grown on me, I’ve even come to appreciate the homes and UC buildings overlooking the beach—but what must it have been like to visit here 100 years ago?

Dune

2016-May-052016-May-06 emceehammrLeave a comment

Summer’s just around the corner.

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse

2016-Apr-262016-Apr-26 emceehammrLeave a comment

It’s not one of the more iconic lighthouses of the outer banks (like Cape Hateras or Bodie Island) but the diminutive Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse on Roanoke Island (yeah, that Roanoke) has a certain charm.

Coronado to Cabrillo

2016-Apr-01 adohertyhLeave a comment

A study in the contradictions of California and the importance of federal lands: In the foreground is Coronado, home of resorts and Navy SEALs. This is the developed, modern California. The cliffs in the background are Cabrillo National Monument, where the first Europeans reached the West Coast in 1542. I imagine that the peninsula would be equally carpeted with homes if not for the presence of the monument. I appreciate the contrast.

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Bodie Island Lighthouse

2016-Mar-222016-Mar-22 emceehammr4 Comments

I love the lighthouses in the outer banks but I’ll have to come back later in the season so that I can climb the towers!

Sand For Miles

2015-Aug-06 emceehammrLeave a comment

There are few places like an ocean beach, especially those on the California coast.

Golden Gate Rocks

2015-Apr-232015-Apr-28 emceehammr2 Comments

There is something very dramatic about the rocky beaches around the San Francisco bay area.

The Edge of the World

2014-Aug-192014-Aug-21 emceehammrLeave a comment

Shot of Mile Rock Beach on a typical San Francisco summer day.

Stick and Pool (Sand Fortress VI)

2014-Feb-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

Another in my very long line of photographs of small structures on beaches: this lone stick, keeping watch over a pool by the edge of the Indian Ocean. A massive storm the night before had filled the ocean with silt and covered the shore with enormous puddles—earth and sea had been mixed in a way that neither particularly seemed to appreciate (not to overly anthropomorphize or anything).

Pacific Overlook

2014-Jan-14 emceehammrLeave a comment

Without being able to see the ocean below, it’s easy to forget how precarious this path is.