Fire at Point Cabrillo

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Back at Point Cabrillo on the Mendocino coast.

Nothing too exciting on this trip, except the photos of course (hopefully). Weather said 40% chance of rain which also meant 60% chance no rain but with maybe some cloud action. The tide was low this time and no wind which was a nice change. It allowed me to get lower on the rocks where some Sea Palms were growing. The sky changed color and dynamics about three times while I was here as you can see in the other photos uploaded into the gallery on my website (9 photos total from this trip).

When the sun finally went down and I made my way back to lighthouse area a wild goose met me in the parking lot. I really do mean it when I say it met me, it walked straight up to me quacking softly and let me get within about a foot distance. We stood there for a moment exchanging pleasantries and then as I continued on he started following about three feet behind me. He followed me for about 100 yards. Each time I would stop and turn around he would only let me get within about a foot away but continued to follow as I walked along. Finally he took off and circled me a few times and then left. I wonder if he lost his group, or gaggle as they're called.

Boom - Mendocino Coast

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The waves were particularly strong today. This shot is called "Boom" because that's exactly what it sounded like when the wave hit the rocks. The shot is directly across the small bay in front of the town of Mendocino which you can see in the background.

The strength of the water was reinforced about an hour later. I was eating a hamburger in a local cafe (again, one of those bldg's in the background) when what sounded like an air raid siren went off. That was shortly followed by normal ambulance/fire truck sirens. When I finished, I made my way out to the street and could see people lined up on the bluff looking into the water with a helicopter, rescue boat and two rescue jet ski's which you can see in the photo below. A man and his family were walking at the edge of the bluff. He saw some rocks on a lower ledge and tried to climb down for a closer look but slipped and fell into the water.

At my car I put on my long lens and tried to walk out to where most of the people were but emergency personnel would not let me pass. I went around another way and took some photos of the scene. At the time of the photo below it was still a "Search and Rescue" situation but still one week later and no body has been found. Apparently he had his twin 18yr old sons with him who got into a scuffle with deputies and rescuers as they felt things were not being done quick enough. One of the deputies tasered one of the twins. There is a Youtube video of it. Very sad. It was surreal to see the water and the rescuers and know that there was a man losing his life in that water.

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Quest for Fire - Lake County

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This is a shot of a sunrise at Detert Reservoir which is across from the Lilly Langtry Winery (formerly Guenoc).

As I got out my camera and mounted it on the tripod, I tried to pull the tripod head into the horizontal position and the clamping mechanism broke!! Normally I would need a tripod for this kind of shot as the shutter would be slow due to the low light. I had to hand hold this shot steadying my hands on the tripod with the camera's "Sensor Stabilisation" setting enabled. I call it "Quest for Fire" as it really is a quest to find this type of cloud action at sunrise or set.

Glass Beach - Ft. Bragg California

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Another trip to the coast at Ft. Bragg. The weather said "mostly clear" which could also mean a few clouds which I'm always looking for. As I left home about noon, the clouds were increasing the closer I got to the coast so I was pretty hopeful for a good sunset. As I pulled into Ft. Bragg the majority of clouds had moved inland but there was still enough off the coastline to perhaps get a good shot.

As I walked north on Glass Beach the clouds increased but formed a solid bank and looked like it was going to completely blanket over (bad). I saw a group of three couples gathered around some rocks at the waterline and saw one of the guys had a starfish. He put it down on the rocks and they left. I went over and saw there was about four more attached to the rock. I looked over the scene and decided that if the sky wasn't going to do much of anything perhaps I could do something with the starfish.

I went over to the bluff and put down my tripod and bag and came back to the rock. The starfish the guy had put down was gone. A wave came in and he was not latched on good enough and got washed out. I looked up and saw him tumbling with the water as the surf was receding. I watched for a few moments as the surf brought him in and then took him back out. Then at a point where it looked like I had enough time, I ran out and grabbed him up right at the water line. Then I had to REALLY run back as a nice wave was right on my heels. I put him back on the rock and he slowly started to reattach himself.

As I waited for the sun to set and tried to think of a composition for the starfish I heard a "swoosh.........click" from behind and above me. I looked up and there were two young guys driving golf balls off the bluff into the ocean. I looked over and saw two balls embedded in the sand about to get washed out. I yelled "Hey we don't need any golf balls in the ocean !!!" One of them cupped his ear like "what? I can't hear you" (sic). I held up my cell phone and flipped it open and they got the message and left.

So having saved the environment I took a few shots of the starfish but didn't turn out to be anything as the cloud bank had been increasing and there was now only a sliver of clear way out on the horizon line. I packed up and started to walk back. I almost thought of finding a way up the bluff and walking back there but decided to stay on the beach which was a good decision. As the sun started to finally set and come into the clear strip at the horizon, things started to get interesting again. I positioned myself on a rock outcrop and the magic happened at the last moment.

I call this one "Until We Meet Again" as these moments are always short and fleeting but will repeat themselves. Hope you enjoy.