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I spotted
this gentleman, Ben More, in Bodega Bay one year and asked the group if
they'd like to photograph him. I then set up a 'non-intrusive'
session and used a gold reflector to reflect some light into the
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It doesn't matter where you are, the
coast is a good source of patterns, and Salt Point State Park has a nice
selection, many of them colorful.
Positioning your camera at a right-angle to the sun is more likely
to bring out the texture in the subject than if the sun is behind
you.
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The
cliffs are what set this shot of point Arena lighthouse apart.
Dramatic light would have been nice, but one has to make the most
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This shack is adjacent to Fort Ross
State Historic Park, and is a decent subject itself under the right
circumstances. I'm sure there are nice close-up studies of the
windows to be had, but as it stands on private property one has to
make do with including the yellow foreground to add interest.
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The classic
view of cliff-top Mendocino Victoriana. |
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A shot
from the middle of Mendocino town given it's flavor by the
Victorian architecture.
If you like to include a lot of foreground detail in your shots,
stop down to around f.16 and f.22 for sharpness from front to
back. |
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The
Mendocino Botanical Gardens are included on every trip, and shots
like this Calla Lily are easy to come by but best recorded with a
long lens on a tripod. It's also a more relaxing technique should
you need to wait for a breeze to cease.
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This is the historic
Logger’s trestle at Fort Bragg over which logging trucks would
trundle to transport logs to the dock at today's McKerricher State
Park site. With silhouettes the exposure pretty well takes care of itself, but
one still need 'strength' in composition.
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Being
from the British Isles I'm very fond of Sea Thrift, which grows in
abundance on the British coasts.
It is also known as Sea Pink and California Thrift, and this
backlit shot has removed much of the color, but the sense of
place makes makes up for that loss. |
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I could take these type of shots
until the Cows come home! Just feet from the coast are dense
woodlands with an abundance of shots such as this.
Recorded with a long lens on a tripod again, may I suggest that you
tilt your camera until the lines flow in a direction that is
pleasing to you.
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Point Cabrillo lighthouse. A 'sunny day' is not ideal for a
dramatic shot,
so I always hope my groups are blessed with some
changeable weather. |
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The arch at Mendocino Headlands State
Park enhanced on this occasion by the lone figure. Had the light
have been more dramatic I would have played with different angles. |
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The 'summers day' view of
Mendocino Headlands State
Park. |
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April
is Ice Plant month on the Mendocino coast, and some of the displays of
color are absolutely spectacular.
Unfortunately there seems to be a move afoot to banish them from
particular sections of the coastline.
It goes without saying that this was shot very low to the ground
with a wide-angle.
Right, colorful Ice Plants dot the
Mendocino coast, but here some California Poppies have their moment. |
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A sea-stack on the beach at Fort
Bragg.
I got down low to include the texture in the wet sand, and
used a wide-angle.
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Once I had spotted this Striped Shore
Crab 'hiding'
in the cleft of a rock at McKerricher State Park, it raised my
awareness level and I found more of them.
'Seeing' the image is all-important, but sometimes I need fortune to
smile on me too! |
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The Common Horsetail fern at the
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens.
Yep, long lens on a tripod again. |
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A Pacific Ocean sunset at Fort
Bragg. |
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Then back to San
Francisco to finish the photography tour. Standing next to the
Golden Gate Bridge, this is a 400 mm lens perspective looking at the
eastern section of the Bay Bridge. |
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An evening skyline shot of
San Francisco. |
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More
Victoriana, but this time contrasting the modern city skyline in
San Francisco.
This shot works in daylight and after dark, but twilight such as
this works best.
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Mendocino
Coast brochure |
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