Over the last few years I’ve taken many photos of people at beaches in Southern California- and probably my favorites are my Beach Ladies. After we get our second Covid vaccinations, I hope to get out of the house, out of town, and out of state to do more beach photography!
Below is a Beach Lady watching surfers at sunset- taken two years ago
An early morning surfer walks back to shore at Newport Beach.
We have just returned from a short but wonderful visit to Southern California, where we visited with our son’s family. We have developed a tradition of spending one night at the beach before heading over to see the family. This time it was Huntington Beach with its majestic waves and ever present surfers. We got there just in time for sunset and had a great time walking around- people-watching and soaking in the ocean views and sunset.
This is the Huntington Beach pier, which I have photographed many times- and that’s Ruby’s Diner at the end. I reduced clarity in post-processing to enhance the dreamy mood.
Unfortunately, I took so many photos I managed to wear out my shoulder again- when will I ever learn? My favorite way to shoot is to walk around with my (heavy) camera on my cross body strap- constantly bringing it up to my eye and snapping. I think it’s the repetitive motion (and the weight of the camera)that causes the pain. The next day, I just used my iPhone camera. This whole issue is weighing on my mind; I am definitely not ready to give up my big camera (or go to a lighter mirrorless camera), but am considering only using my iPhone for street/beach photography and camera on tripod for scenes like these. I hate having physical issues get in the way of doing what I love, so I am determined to find a work-around!
Whenever we visit a beach, I always enjoy watching and photographing shorebirds, which are so comfortable amidst the crowds of people. I managed to get this shot as the crowds momentarily seemed to dissipate by the Huntington Beach Pier.
It’s no secret that I love abstracts and photos that may not be exact replicas of the scene I am photographing. I started manipulating photos the first year I got my camera (and not always in a good way . . .), and right now I am obsessed with multiple exposures. Here is one I took of Balboa Pier- all done in camera with minor editing in Lightroom.
The “in camera” techniques are frustrating for this Photoshop lover- but there is something about the unpredictability of the result that makes it fun!
A couple more lensbaby photos from Pacific Beach in San Diego:
We’re not in Arizona anymore! We are . . . o n v a c a t i o n !
And these photos are from my brand new Nikon D7100! My camera ended up having to be sent to Nikon after all; the shutter was replaced, but there were still problems. So, I now have a second camera, which will, of course, become my first camera. It is the newer version of my old camera- basically the same, but with a better sensor and a few other tweaks. It’s on sale right now, because the even newer version comes out next week.
I had so much fun today using my new toy with the Lensbaby Sweet 35. Of course, many of my lensbaby photos didn’t turn out, but my ratio is getting better. These shots were both taken at Pacific Beach in San Diego.
I love Arizona, but it is sooooo nice to be taking photos at the ocean!
melinda anderson photography 