The Cement Jetty at D&W, Visit #2

Posted: March 4th, 2010 | Author: Mike | Filed under: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | No Comments »

This morning, I was back at Dockweiler for some more shots of the big cement jetty north of Imperial.  There was a lot of wind blowing straight onshore so the surf wasn’t much to speak of.  So no paddle out which is fine because it gave me enough time to get my 365 post up for the day.

Cement Jetty, Perspective 1

Cement Jetty, Perspective 2

Cement Jetty, Perspective 3

(The little bright spot in the lower left part of the puddle is actually a reflection of the moon.)


The Gillis Jetty Revisited

Posted: February 26th, 2010 | Author: Mike | Filed under: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Today, the lighting was so even and lacking contrast that it was difficult to see the horizon clearly.  The sky just blended into the ocean which was sort of cool.  There was a whole lot less debris and seaweed that had washed up onto the beach than the last time I came to photograph this jetty.  Luckily, the weather was a whole lot nicer today too!

The Gillis Jetty, Perspective 1

The Gillis Jetty, Perspective 2

The Gillis Jetty, Perspective 3


The Serpent Jetty, Visit #2

Posted: February 22nd, 2010 | Author: Mike | Filed under: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | No Comments »

Every surfer knows how much sand can move around from week to week.  It becomes really apparent when you have a point of reference like a jetty.  This morning, I went back to the Serpent Jetty to see how different it looked today from a month ago.

The berm that I was standing on last time wasn’t nearly as big as it was last month so I didn’t try to match the same perspectives as before.  Regardless, you can see in the final two images how much more sand was built up around the jetty today.

It’s this constant movement of sand that plays a major factor in the shape of the waves at your typical beach break.  You could have super fun corners one week and beach-long closeouts the next.

Serpent Jetty, Perspective 1

Serpent Jetty, Perspective 2

Serpent Jetty, Perspective 3

Serpent Jetty, Perspective 3 (from January 25th)


Cabrillo Beach

Posted: February 18th, 2010 | Author: Mike | Filed under: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Shortly after starting this project, I knew that if I was going to keep it fresh and interesting for myself, I would need to be willing to explore a bit and find some new places. This past week, thanks to the suggestion of a few friends, I’ve hiked a couple trails that I’ve never hiked before and got to see some really cool stuff.

A friend on Facebook mentioned Cabrillo Beach in a message on Wednesday, and so last night, after I looked it up on a map I decided that I’d get up a little earlier and make the drive down to check it out.  These are some of the images I got this morning.  The clouds killed any chances of me getting a colorful sky, but based on what I saw, I think I will definitely be going back for some more pictures at some point soon.

Cabrillo Beach, looking west

The lifeguard station

The Cabrillo Beach Jetty

The Breakwall


San Pedro Sunset

Posted: February 15th, 2010 | Author: Mike | Filed under: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | No Comments »

We had a family trip down to the tidal pools in San Pedro this evening.  We were treated to a beautiful sunset as the waves broke over the rocks.  Hope you had a wonderful Presidents’ Day!

San Pedro Sunset


Millard Canyon Falls

Posted: February 14th, 2010 | Author: Mike | Filed under: Photography | Tags: , , , , , , | No Comments »

Just north of Altadena is a great little hike called the Millard Canyon Trail.  I met up with my friend who suggested this hike for what is normally about 1.5 miles hike roundtrip, but today it was more like 3 or 4 miles with some significant elevation gain in the early going.  The recent rains had caused sufficient damage to the roads and the parking lot that the entry road was closed to motor traffic.

The good news is that the rains also made the falls much very picturesque.  I’ve seen a few pictures of the falls online and it is little more than a trickle in most of the images.  But today, it was a full-fledged 50′ waterfall!

I eagerly set up my tripod and pulled out my camera only to find that I had taken the tripod mount off of my camera!  Bummers.  So I had to make do and simply rest the camera on the tripod and hope that I could hold it steady as I snapped my long exposures.  I think they came out fine despite not having a rigid mount.

I hope you enjoy today’s images.

Millard Canyon Falls

A mid-trail cascade