I will never forget the day. It was almost my last! And it was a harbinger of what was to come. I had visited this location before. It had an intriguing set of old stairs down to the water from the bluff above. I got there early because the clouds were spectacular, especially for San Diego, which doesn't see many days of clouds. Marine layer maybe, but not honest-to-goodness clouds! In previous visits to "False Point" I had never been able to go beyond the landing from the steps because of the water. But today there was a wide beach and to the right an endless coast of boulders. Not stones, pebbles or rocks. Boulders. Turns out they were very slippery too. I bounced around from spot to spot trying different ways of shooting the scene. As the sunsets began to take place, I could tell it was going to be a great one. Not just a good one. The sun was darting in and out from behind the clouds. One moment it was bright and the next it was shaded. In all I have produced 12 photos from this session. They are all unique and represent one of my favorite coastal sunset photo sessions ever. Truth be told though, by the time the sun reached the horizon it was long gone with the marine layer breaking up the party which happens more often than not...

Boulder Beach Sunset was the 10th photo from the session. I love the vastness of it. If you look carefully at the horizon you can see a line of the marine layer that was threatening to ruin it all. But this time it behaved just long enough and became an interesting facet of the overall image. This photo was one of those moments when all was in the shade despite a lot of sun in the sky. Using my 20mm lens provided this incredible vast depth of field. I set my tripod on its widest lowest stance. My primary tripod does not have a center post. So I can spread the legs very wide and get the camera suspended just inches from the ground. Sometimes I wish for that center post to extend my height just a skosh. But this was not one of those times! I snapped several shots in this position. A few with the sun shining (it was just too harsh) The dynamics of the shaded moment combined with a sky that had three layers of clouds, all doing something different is what helped create such a 3D effect. You can see a distinct high level cloud all streaming at high speed. Then comes the mid level clouds trying to gather. Finally there is the marine layer that not only paints the horizon but is also coming in waves at the shore. Before I was done they had completely invaded and basically ruined the light all together!

Want to add a little drama to your wall? I love this example on fine art paper with a white mat and rustic wooden frame. It would also look nice as stretched canvas where the edges of the photo continue on to the sides. But my choice is the metal print. Choose the High Gloss for a room that does not get a lot of sunlight. The Mid Gloss will stand out magnificently in any other type of room. I only offer the image up to 42" on the long side here, directly. But the image could be printed up to 75". For any in that size range, i like to treat them personally like a limited edition  where I oversee all aspects of production and shipping to ensure you get the highest quality. But here, up to 42" gets you FREE shipping of a very handsome piece in a great size.

This past Friday was the two-year anniversary of that day. I finished this photo session not long after this image. By the time I made it back to the car it was dark. I got a fish taco at my favorite spot and proceeded to drive home. Upon entering the freeway it was a complete parking lot which is not uncommon. I stopped and started for several miles and then it began to open up and we were all back to highway speeds. Not far from where I would exit I began to move into the right lanes when I saw up ahead the traffic was completely stopped. In an instant I realized the pickup in front of me was dead stopped and I brought my car to a halt within inches. At that moment I looked into the rearview mirror only to see a car with the drivers eyes larger than the headlights about to barrel into me at full speed. He did. It spun me around and into the breakdown lane which was lucky because the cars were all around going very fast. I was ok. I could not open the door though or so it seemed. The car that hit me was smoking over in the middle lane about 50 yards behind me and the interior was nothing but airbags. I ran back and yelled to see if the driver was ok. He yelled back that he thought so but was pinned by the airbags. We were both really lucky. My Subaru was totaled, the entire rear pushed in and the frame bent. The tow truck driver gave me a ride home. After all, it was just up the hill at the next exit... I've driven for many decades without even a fender bender. So this was a traumatic event that still has me avoiding freeway driving if possible. 

The next day the first inklings of Covid-19 being much more dangerous than anything we had seen before was beginning to make the rounds. I drove my parents car for the next year, mainly to get us groceries every two weeks. They are in their 90's so we hunkered down and really still are now. I get out for some photography weekly but otherwise this post marks the beginning of the third year of The Pandemic. In December 2020 I bought a used car and we donated the parents car to Father Joes Village, thus turning another chapter in life.

The mid 80's were as strange a time as this is now. Musically, disco was the rule of the day. In fact I was a disco DJ for two winters in Sun Valley, Idaho; skiing during the day and spinning tunes all night! I spent all of the 80's in the Wood River Valley as well as a snippet of the 70's and the 90's. Tears for Fears was a mainstay of intelligent pop rock then. This week we are hearing about a new TFF "album" and so it set me to thinking and of course researching old TFF footage on YouTube. It was a song penned in a time of fear and anxiety and was originally titled, "Everybody Wants to Go to War," which sadly seems apropos this week of the 2020's. I have the utmost of hope in humanity. That it once again can come together as one to defeat evil as it has in the past. Tears for Fears is releasing a new album this week as well. Older and wiser to be sure. Ive heard some of the cuts and they harken back to those heady days of 40 years ago!