A trio of duckling siblings swims quickly across open water to find a protected spot
New life is appearing all over the Bay Area as the winter rains are finally (reluctantly) subsiding. Birds are nesting, flowers are blooming, and we’ll likely get to enjoy the lush green of spring a little longer than normal this year. As captured in the image above, I’ve spent a few days following one of the first mallard families of the spring. Watching mom and dad protect their young hatch-lings from all the dangers of the world (including other ducks), has been a joy to watch. Hopefully I will follow up with some more photos in the coming weeks.
A Mallard watches over his young duckling as he looks for a hiding place amongst the reeds
Below is one of the first lupine blooms of the spring in Edgewood Park and Preserve in San Mateo County. This lupine was photographed at first light on an eastern facing slope.
A purple lupine blooms in early spring, Edgewood Park, San Mateo County, California
The sun sets over the water from a view point in Deception Pass State Park, Whidbey Island, Washington
At the northern tip of Whidbey Island sits Deception Pass. Whidbey Island sits just off the coast of Washington State, one of several islands comprising Island County. In the late 1800’s the Deception Pass area was used for smuggling Chinese immigrants into Washington.
I had hoped to catch a nice sunset over the open water to the east of Deception Pass, however, I was met with dense cloud cover about 30 minutes before sunset. Just as the sun hit the horizon, the clouds started to break up, allowing a little of the sunset’s dramatic light to escape. Silhouetted fir trees and the shoreline help to frame the scene.
A couple of weeks ago I headed out to Pescadero State Beach for sunrise. I picked a weekday to make sure I had the place to myself. I arived about a half hour before sunrise to catch some of the early light peaking over the eastern horizon, and get some long exposures of the surf before the sun actually hit them.
Pescadero has three separate parking areas off of Highway 1. For photography, my favorite is the middle one because of the interesting rock formations just off the coast. For wide sandy beaches, either the northern or southern lots would be the best bet.
The following two images were taken of the surf swirling around some off-shore rock formations. Because of the very low ambient light, a long exposure was needed, which gives the water that misty smoke look.
Ambient light casts the scene in shades of blue, Pescadero State Beach, CaliforniaThe movement of the tidal flow is captured by a long exposure in pre-dawn light along the California coast
At this time of the morning, the sun hadn’t yet risen above the horizon, but the eastern sky was reflecting some vibrant oranges and yellows. The image below was taken facing east, in the opposite direction of the previous two photos.
Morning light crests the horizon and is reflected in a shallow tidal estuary, Pescadero State Beach, California
Once the sun had peaked the horizon, the western sky finally was lit up in the reds and oranges of sunrise. The following image was taken just after sunrise, looking west. The light was dim enough to still require a long exposure (though not as long as the first two images), but now the sky and water were a completely different color.
A high tide moves in over off shore rocks at dawn, Pescadero State Beach, California
And looking south, the morning light was even more spectacular.
Pastel oranges and aquas emerge at sunrise, Pescadero State Beach, California
About 20 minutes after sunrise, the entire landscape was well lit. The truly special light of “magic hour” had gone, but with the sun still so low on the horizon, everything was bathed in soft warm light, with no harsh shadows. The following images was one of the last I took before I packed up my gear and headed home.
Morning light touches the orange sandstone cliffs at Pescadero State Beach, California
Sometimes when I head out for something particular in mind and it doesn’t work out, I can be happily surprised by unexpected opportunities. This week’s photo is a prime example. Recently I traveled down the coast to try to get some photographs of wintering Monarch butterflies. The butterflies were there, but not very active. I have since realized that I was a little too late in the year to capture them clustering on eucalyptus trees. However, the tree in the above photograph had flowered and the blossoms seemed to glow in the soft light of the overcast afternoon. Just as I was starting to leave, a Townsend’s warbler perched itself on one of the most photogenic branches. I was ready to capture the fleeting moment, and came away from the trip with something entirely different than that which I set out to capture.
