A Day at the Beach

 First - This past Saturday was a great day to simply be outside, well at least for me.  We've been having some rain out here in Southern California and from what I've heard the surf was high, so I thought I'd get out Saturday morning to capture some surf action.

Well the wife decided to come out and join me this fine morning.  Leaving the house the skies were dark and overcast with the ground wet from a current slight drizzle.  Knowing I have an Aqua cover for my camera we both ventured out to Seal Beach.

Upon arriving the sky lightened up with the sun starting to shine through in spots.  Now although the first picture shows my wife with her jacket on it was a nice morning.  I was able to stand in the low surf with a shirt and shorts on while I shot.  What a great morning it was, not because the action was all that, but because it was a great day "To simply be out".  Now the surf wasn't that high, but I was able to come away with some nice captures.

 

After spending the morning at Seal Beach the wife and I went for a nice lunch and then home.  As the day progressed I decided to head out once again for some sunset shots at Huntington Beach.

Drove to Huntington Beach and stayed a couple of hours shooting the pier and coming home with the below shots.  Now these are my attempt at HDR and although this look isn't for everyone I rather like how they came out.

Now its time to make an observation.  People in general have no common sense or respect for others.  During both of these outings I had various people simply walk or stand directly in front of me while shooting.  While shooting the surf I had my 300 f/2.8 along with a 1.4 tele-converter on.  This set up may not be the biggest, but it sure stands out when holding it and yet people would still walk or stand right in front of me.  While shooting sunsets I would use my tripod for long exposures and would get various people walking right in front of me.  I don't let things bother me and just shake it off and wait till their gone and then I will continue doing my thing.  Just wish people would have decency and use their head.

Now I step off my box hoping you enjoyed these shots as much as I did taking them.

Huntington Beach Pier

We've had some rain out here in So. Cal the last few days.  We'll just yesterday I was getting ready to head out for a little Christmas shopping and saw thoughts the clouds looked mincing, so I went back inside and got my camera gear so I can head to the beach after some shopping.

Normally I go to Seal Beach, but decided to see how things looked at Huntington Beach this time.  There were a lot more people out and about then what I would normally encounter at Seal Beach, but thought I'd give it a chance and see what I could get.

With HDR's I really don't know how things will look until I get home and play with them on my laptop, but have to say once I took a look and started playing I was very happy with the result.

I will add there were a lot of photographers out shooting at Huntington Beach and not all for sunsets.  Most were doing family portraits.  I guess its a popular spot for photographers.

Bolsa Chica Wet Lands - Seal Beach Pier

First - there are a couple of things going on here.

Football season is over, which means that I again have my Thursday afternoons and Friday evenings back.  Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing more exciting then being on the sidelines of a football game capturing the action, but when football is in season I neglect myself and my passion.  I do love shooting sports, but I love getting outside and enjoying what the world has to offer me as well, this usually means wildlife and senics / sunsets.

Needless to say I took my first opportunity to head out to Bolsa Chica Wet Lands to see what was out.  The activity was very quite, but I was able to get a few shots and I misjudged the time (due to recent time change) and got out a little late, so after taking a few shots I noticed the sunset and thought I head over to Seal Beach Pier to see what I could get.

Got to the pier just in time to take a few HDR shots.

Whats important and this is advice I give to other photographers, is to simply get out and do something for you.  We all got into photography for our own reasons and tend to have a specialty, but sometimes we need to get outside with just our camera and take pictures.  Why, well because its what we do.

So enjoy these shots "Just Because"

First Round CIF Pac-5 Playoffs Lakewood Varsity vs Mater Dei

Not sure how to start this post, other than this isn't the way I wanted to end my football season.

Lakewood has had a rough time this year getting things together.  They have gone from doing everything wrong to playing some of the best football I've seen.

I knew this was going to be a tough game for Lakewood, but man I didn't think it would go in the direction it did.  Final score was 71-10 Mater Dei.  So with that my football season has come to an end

With the game going like it did I had a rough time capturing Lakewood in action, so my goal and something I will try to work on is capturing other non-action shots better.

Let's start off with the cheerleaders - You all ROCK! 

Night Out Shooting Billiards

Every couple of months I meet up with some friends who have a passion and love for photography as I do.  We'll meet up and different spots to shoot various things and well, to simply get together for some talk, food, and of course some photography.

This get together was at a local billiards / sports bar in Newport Beach.  Had a great time hanging with my buds Shelly, Shannon, and a new addition John.  Was a pleasure to meet you John.

Spent more time enjoying every ones company then I did shooting, but I did manage to get a few shots.