The very first sight that impressed us in San Diego were La Jolla tide pools.
Wildlife: Hundreds of Sea Mammals within Arm’s Reach.La Jolla Tide Pools: Some of the Finest Tide Pools on the US West Coast.San Diego isn’t lush and tropical but it looked much more “alive” than other places, especially in Southern California.ĭistinctive laid-back attitude, an abundance of wildlife within city boundaries, white sand beaches, and the possibility to visit Mexico within a day made San Diego the top in our personal list of favorite places in California. The first thing we were impressed with was… greenery. We carried our Alaskan Brewery cases and some groceries to the Madrona that evening before the light faded, then, hit up the local taqueria for dinner, followed by a night cap of bourbon, and finally a fitful sleep on the boat.During our exploratory trip to California, San Diego was the only major place we liked awfully a lot from day one, despite the gloomy weather in mid-January. Nathan Straubinger, who owns Resurrection Bay Sailing Charters with his wife, Kate, was busy getting final preparations in order while the biggest snowflakes I'd ever seen fell on the myriad of neighboring boats tied in their slips: trawlers, sailboats, tugs, etc. Not only that, but, Patagonia and Alaskan Brewery sponsored our trip and National Park Magazine and I signed a contract for a Winter 22/23 article! It wasn't looking good when we arrived in Seward and made our way to meet the captain of the Madrona, the 35 foot sailboat that would be our home. I was afraid I'd asked my friends to throw down their hard earned cash and time away for a trip where we'd be stuck on a sailboat drinking below deck for ten days with shit weather falling outside and avalanche conditions so high that we'd never bother to get off the boat. Multiple times a day during the weeks prior to heading north to Alaska, I'd check NOAA's weather and watched what appeared to be typical: coastal rain at sea level with multiple feet of snow accumulating every week. My stomach was in turmoil thanks to an abundance of stress the weeks before leaving for a trip I had put together-a ten day sea-to-ski trip that would take five friends into the bays of Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. It was a blast waiting for the waves to surge into the tight crevasses and then see the images on the LCD screen.Īfter a few images were captured at 24mm, I swapped lenses for Sony's 16-35mm f/2.8 and captured this vertical image going for an extreme field of view from just beyond my feet all the way up to the distant horizon:
LA JOLLA TIDAL POOLS ISO
With my ISO reduced to 50, I set my aperture anywhere between f/7.1 to it's max setting at f/22 and enjoyed the long multi second exposures I was seeking. Having the tidal pools to myself, I put my Sony a9ii on my Manfrotto tripod and began using Sony's 24-70 f/2.8 lens with Hoya's Solac 82mm 6 stop neutral density filter. I was also fortunate that a thin layer of clouds was above me with intermittent bursts of sunshine. Because the pools were mostly filled with water, no one was around. I returned at at +5' tide and found just what I wanted-a small swell sending in surges of water up the channels, splashing over bands of rock, and swirling around the pools.
My wife was surprised that I didn't want to take my camera along for this outing, but, I explained that the number our tourists exploring the features, critters, and coves, along with the water moving around the rocks further away out-made me want to wait until the tide was high. For this, we ventured out at low tide and found all sorts of creatures to check out. The first trip to La Jolla's tidal pools was to share the marine wonders with my you niece. Watching the tidal charts for low and high tides both served to help time surf sessions, as well as when to visit the tidal pools. Having grown up surfing the cold water of Santa Cruz and the breaks south of San Francisco, I was in 7th heaven getting a few surf sessions in with a childhood friend. This past Thanksgiving I enjoyed a week along break from the mountains of Idaho while visiting family and friends just north of La Jolla, California. Using Neutral Density Filters for long shutter exposures at tidal pools requires some planning, timing, and a bit of equipment.
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