One of my first real work-breaks after moving to Monterey Bay was the week between Christmas and New Year's in 2023.

Evelia and I had often been spending our weekends exploring the sights around our new home, but a lot of that had initially been southward along Big Sur. This time we set aside a day and traveled up the northern leg of the Pacific Coast Highway, meandering our way up to Pigeon Point, Año Nuevo, and back down through Santa Cruz.

One of the real surprises for us was Shark Fin Cove:

This largely-unmarked beach rests below a small shoulder-pull-off just south of Davenport, across a set of abandoned Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. It was already late afternoon and we had just finished a meal at the excellent Davenport Roadhouse, so not much time had been put aside for another stop.

But I could not resist taking a few pics. This particular one I didn’t have a lot of hope for as the setting sun was shining almost directly into the lens, and even with a CPL filter I was concerned that the glare and haze would be too much. But, much my surprise, it only required a very light touch of Haze Reduction in Photoshop to really bring it out.

We have returned several times since and almost every time the Cove is a little bit different. As such it is rapidly becoming one of my favorite spots, and it has become a regular stop when we are up that way.

December 30th, 2023 –{Tech in the comments}

#Photography #Images #SilentSunday #MomentOfZen #LandscapePhotography

Evelia and I have been living in the Monterey California area for a bit more than 3 years now and even after many weekends of casual drives up and down the coast, I still find new perspectives to capture through the lens.

Today's Silent Sunday post is yet another example of that:

Bixby Bridge is (possibly) a world-famous tourist destination, Built in 1932, the open-spandrel arch bridge is indeed a magnificent sight and is increasingly getting hard to photograph without silly numbers of tourists around. Yesterday was no different. However Evelia and I are hosting some guests this weekend and, well, not stopping to look at it is kind of like going to New York and skipping the Brooklyn Bridge. You have to at least check it out.

But honestly, I have a mess of Bixby Bridge pics at this point, and on far more peaceful days. So while Evelia was showing her friends around and helping to take their selfies, I walked a bit farther along the shoreline and eventually happened upon this break in the flora, giving me a glimpse of the coast, the waves below, and the Infinite Pacific, providing a non-bridge "Bixby Bridge" perspective and acting as reminder that sometimes we miss the hidden beauty around the more obvious object of desire.

March 15th, 2025 -{Tech in the comments}

#Photography #Images #BigSur #LandscapePhotography #SilentSunday #MomentOfZen

One of the real pleasures in my recent life is the fact that Evelia and I have gotten into the habit of taking a break over the Holiday week, with at least a day or two put aside just for seeing this magical place called California that we have found ourselves inhabiting; and trying to capture the beauty of it in images.

Last year we took a drive up CA 1 north of Santa Cruz on New Year's Eve-Eve (December 30th) to try and catch some of the wave action that is more common during the winter months. This time of year the Central Coast can be very moody, and it is not unusual for winter days to alternate between storms coming in off the Pacific, only to be followed by sunshine and light breezes.

On a whim, we took a side-road off CA 1 that had a small sign declaring it was Davenport Landing Beach. The Coast is dotted with many small spots like this, so many that it would be easy to get inured to the beauty. For me so far that hasn’t happened. I honestly hope it never does.

Even so, for some, Davenport Landing Beach could fall into that category. It’s a very simple spot, with a small set of restrooms, a few benches, and a children’s swing set. While we met a very nice local resident walking her dogs and chatted in the public parking area, the beach itself was unoccupied. It had been lightly raining prior to our arrival and everything was poised in that moment between the breaking of the storm and arrival of blue skies and calm.

It was perfection, and for a small moment in time, Evelia and I had it all to ourselves.

#MomentOfZen #SilentSunday #Photography #Images {Tech In the Comments}