Another location I try to visit often while I’m at home is San Pedro. I ended up going to Fermin Point because of the rocky beaches, and since it was a lot easier to get to than anywhere in Orange County. A small walk, with a little of scrambling on rocks, and you will be graced with some pretty spectacular views. The task really is, how to photograph the area. People think that landscape photographers just find a spectacular view and shoot it, but it’s not really the case. You need to look for the composition, wait for the light, and really go back time and time again. I ended up taking more than ten trips to get only a few keepers in my opinion, and I still think I should go back.  This first one is one of my favorite, the clouds seemed to give me a perfect pattern above, and I found a nice seen below as well.  Unfortunately this water is pretty putrid, and I really needed to wash off all m stuff, and shower afterwords.  But the picture gives you an idea of what we can get in any location, if you have the determination.

One of my first trips here was back in 2013, I wanted to explore the area with Melody.  We really didn’t know what to expect, but once I got there I saw immense potential.

There were tide pools with diverse life, and rocks galore.  It really teaches you to visualize and work for the shot.  The first day there, there was a few clouds, but the sunset really didn’t pop.

Melody and Kristen, were my buddies on this first scouting trip.  I really liked this rock formation and ended up using it as a foreground in a later photo when I came back.

The sunset that night, not that spectacular but it works.

I usually try to visit the Korean Friendship Bell as well, but never really focused on it for sunset.  I really should go back after looking at these photos again.  The lights that come on after the sun sets really ruins the colors in the photos, a little too much yellow and orange.

Another view.  I usually visit during the weekdays to really avoid the crowds.  It’s pretty busy on a typical weekend and can get a little crowded.

I ended up visiting more, exploring around Fermin Point as the tide began to raise up.  Usually you want to be very careful in these situations because the water is pretty violent.  I ended up getting a 15 foot wave splashed on me, and it kind of ruined my gear.  Salt water and electronics don’t mix.

And as the sun set for another one of my adventures I found a composition I liked and tried to work it for all it’s worth.  You could see some rain clouds coming in on the right as well, and I was glad the clouds were breaking away as the sun set.  A very rare occasion in Southern California.

And the last light, as the colors began to change on the clouds, my last shot after the walk of shame back from getting splashed.

I revisited the rock formation mentioned earlier when I saw a few clouds in the sky while returning home from lab, and ended up getting a treat!  This is a typical colorful winter sky in California, not as epic as the first one.