Tag: Beach Photos

Beach Photography

Like most people, I love the beach, I love shooting there, and I always love great ocean and beach pictures. I grew up on the beach and have spent a lot of time in the water—hours a day surfing on summer break or between semesters. It’s safe to say I’ve learned a thing or two…
Victoria Beach Tower

This Photo is of the Victoria Beach Tower, which is actually a 60-foot spiral staircase built with reinforced concrete that leads up to a house on the top of the cliff. This was built in 1926 as part of California Senator William Edward Brown and his wife’s summer vacation home so they could escape the…
Hermosa Pier Sunset

This shot is of the Hermosa Pier right before the sun went down. The sun is there but very small in the shot because I’m on a really wide lens. This photo is just before the sky turns to a deep purple color, which created a totally different look from the one found in my…
Beneath the Hermosa Pier

My experience photographing the Hermosa Pier was much better than when I went to the Santa Monica Pier. Parking was much easier in Hermosa, with fewer people and photographers crowding around. I basically had the whole purple hour to myself. The purple hour is the hour after the sun goes down when the sky transitions…
El Matador Beach – Malibu

El Matador Beach is an awesome little spot just above Zuma. I’m guessing it got the name “El Matador” because this rock formation looks like a bull with its head down. This location is about halfway between Ventura and Santa Monica on the Pacific Coast Highway in California. It’s known for its beautiful rock formations.…
Orange Skies – Santa Monica Pier

This photo is of the Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier Amusement Park. I love sunsets when there are no clouds in the sky. You get nice even colors that are easy to tweak. Shot with the Canon 5Dmkii and the 24-70mm f2.8L USM lens. I tweaked the exposure in Lightroom. Created a silhouette…
Queen Mary with the Canon 40mm Pancake

The Queen Mary during the 4th of July fireworks show. About 30 minutes after the show, they set off another brief round of fireworks that I could capture further down with my Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake lens.
Santa Monica Pier – HDR

This was my first time shooting the Santa Monica Pier on my Canon 5Dmkii. It’s a very popular spot for photographers but it’s rare to get the timing of the lights right. If you plan on going here to shoot the amusement park on the pier, the best time I’ve found is to shoot after…
Malibu Pier In HDR

The coast highway in California is one of the greatest drives one can take. One city in particular that I like is Malibu. Although part of L.A. it really is its own little world with a completely different vibe from the rest of the city. It has some great surf, some amazing views, and lots…
4th of July Fireworks – Queen Mary

On this Fourth of July, I went to Long Beach, California, to shoot the fireworks show at the Queen Mary. Shooting fireworks can be tricky, but it really isn’t that hard. It’s important to shoot with a fairly stopped-down aperture and a slow shutter speed. Most of these photos were shot at around an f/16…