Why do I say it’s a photographer’s paradise? Because it really is!
If you’re into landscape and surf photography, this place is a pretty darn good spot for taking breathtaking photos. I don’t remember much about visiting Crystal Cove when I had visited in previous years with my family, but this year I got to experience it for myself – and through the eye of a photographer! I remembered not liking Crystal Cove as much as I liked Crescent Bay, but that was mainly for the skimboarding. I wish I could’ve gotten to Crescent Bay – that’s a gorgeous spot, too.
I parked at the Pelican Point area and walked down to the beach from there after taking a couple photos at the top. I was excited to get down there and explore the beach on foot a little bit! The cliffs at Laguna are pretty stunning and I absolutely love the beach being backed up by towering cliffs! …well, not really towering….but they look pretty darn cool to me!
I people watched as I took my photos and there’s something kinda fun about being there by myself. I saw families walk by, couples young and old, and a young mother chasing a cute toddler girl excited about tide pools, followed closely by another daughter. These moments often pass by when I’m with someone else, but I got to take it all in.
I crossed over the rocks and tide pools now being explored by the mother and her two daughters and was met with a pretty vista. Rocks in the water made for a beautiful scene, and a father and son surfed with relative easy. I took a couple more photos here, narrowing in on the water on the shore and carving out a path in the sand. I eventually set up my camera to take some HDR shots of the setting sun.
As the sun set, the air became cooler and I was glad I had brought a sweatshirt. I took a series of shots at different times during the sunset, curious to see what I could capture as the light shifted around. I like pulling the images into Lightroom afterwards and seeing how different each of the shots are, even if they’re only taken a few minutes apart. Here’s some of the results below!
The sun continued to set as I packed away my camera gear and I walked back on the now chilly beach. I don’t get to the beach at all anymore, so I tried to savor this as much as I could! I’m comforted by the fact that this area in California is actually only nine and a half hours away from where I live in Utah, so perhaps I’ll be seeing it a bit more often than not in the future….
Parting shot:
Next blog: Nevada, food, Utah….I’ve got quite a lot more blogs that need to be written. This is a fun time for sure! How do we like these laid-back style of blogs?
Justin Fague 