03-SEP-2010
Youth, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
The energy of its youthful visitors gives Mission Beach much of its flavor. On weekends, the town is crowded with college students. I layer this image with youth, both real and idealized.
30-AUG-2010
Preserved, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
Long term visitors or residents in a beach town quickly realize the effects of salty ocean air on automobiles. This car, parked next to a worn cottage, is incongruously shrouded like a mummy. I place it in a wideangle context of thrusting shadows and lines, suggesting energy. Yet this car is going nowhere at the moment.
03-SEP-2010
Decorated thatch, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
Probably a lingering reminder of the post 9/11 surge of patriotic feeling, this flag seems incongruously out of place in its thatched surroundings. The textures of the thatch echo the thrust of the flag’s stripes.
29-AUG-2010
Freaky Boutik, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
When it comes to commercial architecture, anything goes in the streets of Mission Beach. I found the design of the Freaky Boutik, which caters to the unconventional tastes of a youthful subculture, to be remarkably incongruous. The American flag, hanging from the ear of a totem-like figure, offers an accidental yet expressive comment as well.
08-SEP-2010
Shrouded patio chair, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010.
Just as the car in the previous image, this patio chair is protected from the effects of the salty air by a shroud, which appears surreal amidst its flowery surroundings.
09-SEP-2010
Contemporary beach house, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
The evening light flows through a spiral sculpture at the entrance to one of Mission Beach’s more expensive contemporary beach houses, while additionally revealing an adjoining piece of stained glass. The shadows of the surrounding palm trees add a sense of place to the scene.
10-SEP-2010
Seashells, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
I had not even left the living room of our rented beach house when the first picture opportunity of the day revealed itself. The morning light defined the stepped edge of the living room's mantle, as well a large glass jar filled with seashells. The morning light flowing through the jar encouraged me to make a number of images, using my spot-metering mode on the brightest of the shells. All else fall into shadow. The shells were once essential parts of living sea creatures. Now they have become someone’s collectables, decor made out of nature’s work.
07-SEP-2010
Sunset Run, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
Early evening light defines the tire tracks of the trucks that keep Mission Beach pristine. A lone runner churns through the sand as the thronged boardwalk and its wall of beach houses seem to watch him as he passes. My 415mm telephoto lens compresses the spatial perspective of the image, making it seem as if all of the blue trash barrels along the wall of the board walk stand virtually side by side. Actually, they are spaced much farther apart than it appears.
29-AUG-2010
A study in contrasts, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
I backlight this image, silhouetting a small group of beachgoers against the reflection of the sun on the Pacific Ocean. The sun, meanwhile, hangs above the cloudbank, which acts as filter. It faintly feathers the rays of the sun through the scene. The image becomes a study in contrast in both light and scale.
08-SEP-2010
Reflections, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
A contemporary beach house acts here as a reflector, playing back the reflections of the evening sun on its many windows. Meanwhile, the strollers on the boardwalk below never notice them. The reflections can be seen only from well out on the beach itself. When shooting reflections, it is important that we keep moving to make them change in appearance and intensity.
10-SEP-2010
No rain in sight, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
People seem to carry umbrellas to protect themselves from the rays of the sun in many parts of the world, but it is a custom not often seen in the United States, particularly on beaches. This woman is carrying this umbrella over her head as she runs along the edge of the tide very late in the day under a clear blue sky. The sun was already plunging towards the sea, turning the incoming waves and the piles of the seaweed on the sand a dazzling gold. She ran past me, incongruously determined to hold the umbrella over her head until the sun vanished below the horizon.
04-SEP-2010
Contemplation, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
This couple, sitting at sunset on the boardwalk wall that lines Mission Beach for more than two miles, seem to be virtually alone among hundreds of passing strollers. By isolating them against an empty beach, and bathing them in the golden light of early evening, I am able to find a moment in time that best expresses a contemplative mood. She holds a drink to her lips, and stares into the distance. However, the man holds a cell phone in his hand. If it should ring, the contemplative mood will vanish.