With remnants of tropical storm Kay still being “active” in our area, I decided to switch our photo club’s monthly activity and we went to the tide pools of Hospital Point in La Jolla, Sunday morning*. I was hoping that Kay’s clouds would take on nice color at sunrise, but unfortunately, that plan was spoiled by smoke, which had drifted out over the ocean from the Fairview fire, which was burning near Hemet, in Riverside County.
Tide Pool
Rising Tide at Hospital Point
Last Saturday, I went to La Jolla with my photo club, for dawn photos at the tide pools of Hospital Point — and the conditions were quite challenging!
Weight of Summer, Premonition
Last Friday, a storm system brought lightning, thunder and a little bit of rain to San Diego again. This isn’t entirely unusual, but this year’s amount of summer storms that actually reach the coastal areas of the county is higher than what I’ve experienced in the past.
The First Sunset, Solana Beach
Impressions from a visit to the Solana Beach tide pools for the first sunset of 2020.
Filters or Blending?
A recent Twitter conversation about the pros and cons of graduated neutral density filters (often just called GNDs) made me think about my own approach towards handling high-contrast scenes. I’m not using GNDs anymore, rarely did so in the past, and I prefer exposure blending on the computer, or even just using “software GNDs” in a single exposure. I find it far more flexible* and prefer to have “pure data” without the (unalterable) effects of the filter in my original/initial exposures.
Another Sunset at Tabletop Reef
Storms are drenching San Diego County and Southern California with much needed moisture. The first of them has just passed through and the only place to go for a walk is really the beach, because all trails are muddy and slippery, or closed entirely (to prevent further damage when people walk into vegetation to get around large puddles, etc.).