The North Coast - Up to Anchor Bay

Unlike last year, I did not bother getting up before sunrise to make the coast. I decided to relax a bit more and just take it easy. However, I did manage an fairly early start and headed out about 11:00am.

It was drizzling and foggy at Chris's so I was excited, but as I headed west toward the ocean, I discovered another sunny and warm day. Sigh. Harsh lighting abounded and the ocean was already pretty much back lit and hazy due to moisture in the air, but I did get a few coastal photos and was also blessed with vultures. Lots of vultures.

These birds were catching the afternoon thermals and soaring along the cliffs. I brought out my 300 f2.8 and managed to catch a few good shots of them gliding above and below the cliffs at Jenner before they moved off.

Since the ocean was not what I wanted, just the wrong time of day, I decided to explore one of the many switchback turns along the ravines that Hwy one crosses. I do not know if this one even has a name, but it was sure nice inside. With all the recent rains the little stream was flowing with lots of water and the light in here was minimal which is what I was looking for. Using both my 20mm and 28-70mm lenses and of course my tripod, I managed quite a number of great long exposure photos of the stream and the surrounding woods. Most of my exposures in here were quite long -- between one and two seconds. There was no wind, not even a subtle breeze which would have caused the leaves to look blurry so it was perfect in here for such long exposures. The moisture in the air also created some really nice effects when I looked back toward the sun. The moss and fern covered trees also gave this place an almost tropical look. It was really cool and though thousands probably pass this spot every day, I doubt few ever bother to venture in since it did not even have a pullout except one a few hundred feet up the road.

Traveling on, I saw a beach along the highway which did look somewhat promising. A larger stream emptied out here and yet it did not have good access to the public. Here were a couple people here, and a dog, but certainly not enough for me to worry about getting into my photos ;-) However, I did not bother with the beach anyway, just the stream and along the highway capturing the back lit ocean and surrounding cliffs silhouetted by the trees.

When I finally got to Anchor Bay, which is just past Gualala, I was a bit early. I was very early. I had told Karen, my friend here who runs Banana Belt Properties, that I would be arriving around 5pm. It was closer to 2pm when I got here. Between the drizzle at Chris's causing me to leave early, and then the bright sun along the coast keeping me from having much interest in taking photos along the way, I ended up pretty much driving straight up. Oh well, not a problem because Karen was in her office anyway on this Saturday afternoon. After she finished up with business, we took a walk down to the ocean and there were a number of surfers in the water. I brought along my 300f2.8 and the 2x telextender which along with the 1.5 advantage from my digital camera gave me the equilavent of a 900mm lens! I did not have to be anywhere near the water to get some really cool photos of people surfing. I also got some really neat photos of Anemones and star fish in tide pools. Using my 300mm lens, now without the doubler, I was able to position myself so that the water was nearly invisible to the lens.

As the sun set, I captured some crashing waves, again all with my 300mm lens. As the afternoon progressed and the sun dipped below the nearby cliffs, the waves turned blue against the reddish brown cliffs in the background.

There is also a waterfall at this beach. It was in shadow and setting my aperture to f34 (Yes my 300mm lens stops way down) I was able to get 3 second exposures which totally blurred out the water. It made the falls a lot more interesting than a photo at a more 'normal' shutter speed where you can see each drop of water. equivalentalign="center">