01-SEP-2010
Diving pelicans, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
The angle of the lead pelican, plunging into the Pacific in search of a fish dinner, echoes the diagonal thrust of the “Gods Rays” clouds in the background. I was able to freeze the tip of its beak just before it overlaps the horizon, to give the image much tension. I made dozens of images of silhouetted diving pelicans off Mission Beach just before sunset each evening during our two week visit, but this one best melded my choices in light, time, and space together to express the essence of the concept.
10-SEP-2010
Layers of life, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
As a setting sun turns Mission Beach to gilded wet sand, we are reminded that the sea itself is a living entity. Not only did life originate in the sea, but also it supports our existence. I layer this image beginning with the seabirds in the foreground, one of them reflected on the surface of the wet sand. They are feeding here on the tiny organisms that are washed ashore. The energy of the sea comes next, with waves surging in the middle ground. In the background stands a human silhouette, actually a surfer. He becomes a primeval symbol of life, harking back to its origins.
08-SEP-2010
Surf fishing, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
The image of a man standing in the surf with a fishing pole is not, in itself, an expressive photograph. Most of the time, it would be simply a description of an activity. Yet at seven o’clock on a late summer evening, the water in which he stands reflects the sunset and turns the sea into pool of golden textures. The mood and atmosphere here make it an expressive scene. We can only wonder what he may be seeing, as he casts for fish.
02-SEP-2010
Pelican on patrol off Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
Just as the fisherman in the preceding image, this Brown Pelican is spending its evening on Mission Beach for a catch of his own. On this evening, the setting sun was hidden under what is known as a “marine layer,” a massive cloudbank. However that bank does not quite reach the horizon, leaving a slit of orange open sky below it. The orange layer divides the gray sea from the gray sky, creating a series of three horizontal bands across my frame. I waited for a cruising pelican to horizontally fly into my picture, and when one was about a third of the way across my viewfinder, I made this image.
04-SEP-2010
Surfing encouraged, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
Surfing is more than a sport. It is a culture, and that culture helps shape the character of Mission Beach, as well as many other places along the California, Hawaii, and Florida coastlines. The culture began early in the 20th century, spread quickly during the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to evolve. It affected fashion, music, literature, films, language, and more. Surfers, who come from many walks of life, are bound by the hunt for great waves, the desire for the ultimate ride, and life in and around the ocean. Even some of the utility boxes along the town’s Mission Boulevard are painted to reflect the consuming interest of many who live or visit here. While this area is not particularly noted for its huge waves, it still draws people who enjoy having fun on a board in the ocean.
09-SEP-2010
Early morning surfer, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
For dedicated surfers, the day can start just after dawn. I found this fellow trudging to the water’s edge, his midsection incongruously vanishing behind his board. He wears a wetsuit, and his only audience is a lone seagull.
06-SEP-2010
Preparation, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
I found these surfers preparing their boards while still on the Mission Beach Boardwalk. There are many kinds of surfboards, depending upon the skill set and intentions of the surfer and the nature of the waves. I liked the triangular composition of this image – the woman’s hands flutter inches from the board she is has just handed off to the man.
09-SEP-2010
Anticipation, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
Bearing their boards, these women have just about reached the water – I could feel their anticipation as they felt the energy of the waves moving toward them. I combined the rhythms of the horizontal furrows in the sand with the horizontal waves and one of the boards that is held in a horizontal position over one of the surfer’s heads. The verticality of the arms, legs, and bodies provide a rhythmic counter point.
07-SEP-2010
Camaraderie, Mission Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
As the day drew to a close, I found this pair of surfers entering the water. The image is about both friendship and sport. One sends the other on his way into the golden waves with a gracious parting gesture. They seem to already feel the energy of the sport.
03-SEP-2010
The Crystal Pier, Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
The Crystal Pier, which is located next door in nkeighboring Pacific Beach, is a familiar landmark for visitors to Mission Beach. It was built in 1927. A hotel made up of cottages, built in the 1930s, anchors the pier. Beyond the hotel is space for viewing and fishing. Meanwhile, surfers seem to gather in the waters surrounding the pier. In this image, which I made with a long telephoto lens, we see the cottages, a lone surfer, and a few tourists and fishermen out at the end. A tiny surfer is dwarfed in scale by the pier.
10-SEP-2010
Crystal Pier at sunset, Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
I layer this view of the Crystal Pier by placing a pair of onlookers in the foreground, a lone surfer in the middle ground, and the end of the pier in the near background. In the far background, an orange sky appears below a hovering cloudbank. The people in this image vary in size as well. The people standing in the foreground are many times larger than the surfer, while the surfer is far larger than the tiny forms of the tourists and fishermen standing on the pier. This difference in sizing provides a sense of perspective to the image.
10-SEP-2010
Surfers beneath Crystal Pier, Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, 2010
A group of surfers sit on their boards beneath the pillars of the old Crystal Pier at sunset, awaiting a wave that will sweep them towards the shore. I backlight both the surfers and the pillars. The silhouetted figures and the old posts dripping in seaweed combine to make a strongly abstract geometric image. The color in the foreground reflection repeats the color of the background sky.
