I made some shots in the last days – please tell me your thoughts:
San Simeon, California, well known as home of Hearst Castle, has more going for it than just as a one-stop layover to see the monumental residence of an American publishing icon.
From a base-camp at the Orchid Inn just off California 1, anyone with no more than a point-and-shoot camera and an average eye for scenery can capture world class images in just one day roaming the 30-mile scenic-rich stretch of the golden state's Central Coast.
Head south for breakfast or brunch along Morro Bay's wharf, but don't let the often persistent morning overcast daunt you. With photogenic fame that rivals Hearst Castle, Morro Rock looms over the harbor area and a cap of mist, cloud or fog adds visual drama as a massive background to colorful fishing boats, kayakers and the ever-present seabirds that make the estuary their home. Tides and other factors govern the departure and arrivals of the fishermen, so check around to see when the wharf shows the most activity. On weekends and in the summer months, tourists flood the area, possibly dominating your foreground. A small inconvenience for great seaside pictures of marine life and activity.
After brunch at any of several restaurants in the marina area, drive north along California 1 to the little town of Harmony, population 18. The pottery shop and a nearby winery maintain regular hours but a restaurant behind the post office can be hit or miss. Whether you stop to shop, sip wine or eat, check out the interplay of light and shadows on the various doors and windows of the three main buildings in Harmony: the old creamery's loading dock, the chapel at the rear and a commercial building across the little main street in the town. A vintage and long unused truck contrasts with a sign proclaiming some of the things people used to do in the sparsely populated town where William Randolph Hearst stopped en route to San Simeon for dairy products.
Cambria, artistic and commercial nerve-center for the area, has a world-class collection of restaurants, galleries and other shops that represent great focal points for pictures of the family browsing and interacting with local merchants. Cambria affords a wealth of opportunities for you to take the traditional point and click photo of the family or friends. Linger in the town as long as you want, but save time for sunset shots along the coast at any of several turnouts along the Cabrillo Highway.
What would a seaside picture be without a lighthouse? The old lighthouse at Peidras Blancas sits 15 miles north of San Simeon on a rugged point that juts into the ocean. Authorities limit access to many working lighthouses along the California coast and if seeing the inner workings of these venerable sentinels captivates you, better structures exist elsewhere. Besides, parts of the original cab from the Piedras Blancas lighthouse sit on prominent display in Cambria, which gives you perhaps a closer look at how engineers designed the light element and its relationship to the Fresnel lens, the two features that create and throw light far out to sea.
But the jagged coast and rocks between the lighthouse and a wide turnout provide you with more than a staging area for sunset shots. Throughout the year, the sun sets either to the right or left of the lighthouse. Weather often rolls in over the top of Piedras Blancas to present you with dramatic sky effects as the sun lowers in and out of late afternoon and early evening clouds and fog banks.
Wildlife lovers know that in late winter sea lions use the many coves and inlets as a spawning ground. Be careful, however. Sea lion bulls, though very large and lumbering move with deceptive speed when angered. Sea otters and harbor seals also live along this stretch of California coast; and at the same during the same season when sea lions mate, whales often transit close to shore in their annual migrations south to calving waters off Mexico before returning north later in the spring. To catch views of migrating whales, you'll need either a long lens on your camera or take one of the charter whale watching excursions out of Morro Bay.
Along California 46, a well-traveled highway that stretches from the coast inland to Paso Robles, you can spot hawks, turkey vultures and other raptors that ride thermals in search of prey. About three miles inland and near where the road crosses over the summit, you'll find two broad turnouts. From either of these parking areas, look south toward Morro Rock and wait for the sun to get low on the horizon for perhaps the most dramatic panoramic shot you'll take on your one-day photo odyssey. With the camera set for telephoto, you can squeeze family, friends or even yourself into the frame along with the far distant but still visible Morro Rock, a wide swath of coast and even a few of the golden hills that give California its distinctive second name, “The Golden State”.
To round off your photo tour of the Central Coast, take in any of the several wineries that flank California 46 as you approach Paso Robles. The late afternoon sun and always scenic vineyards, not to mention the opportunity to taste wines from some of the up-and-coming wineries in the region, give you a good chance to change your focus from panoramas to local color that includes architecturally unique homes and commercial buildings.
This post is number six of twenty one subjects that will help you focus when on your next journey and you wish to bring back a well rounded story of where you were. If you’re just going on vacation and only want pictures of yourself by the pool sipping boat drinks, then you can probably skip this one. These posts are not intent on telling you everything you need to do, step by step, to capture perfect, cookie-cutter pictures while traveling. Instead, they are intent on pointing out some vital elements to capture when on the road and ask thought provoking questions you may want to ask yourself. My hope is they help guide you to find your own means to better expressing what your travels have meant to you and present that in the best light possible.
How people socialize from region to region often seems something of a shock to the unsuspecting traveler, even in their own home country. City to city, the changes are less obvious. Block to block, they can be barely perceptible. But they are there. Humans are a social species and any time two or more of us get together there are behaviors and patterns, ways of communicating, ways of conveying thoughts and feelings about what’s important to each.
In broad terms, from a photographic standpoint when traveling, I take socializing to be any interactions that aren’t strictly business (even though business transactions often involve various types of socializing). And typically the types of interactions where people are trying to learning something from each other, unlike sports and other competitions. It’s the way cabbies waiting for a fare will stand around and chat. It’s the way police talk with vagrants in a park before moving them along. And kids at a movie theater yelling to friends or playing video games.
To really get a feel for socializing when traveling, it’s best to spend a day with no camera. Walk around and maybe see some of the tourist areas, but also spend time seated in a park away from the popular sites (we’ll have a post later that talks about hitting those ‘must see’ sites, but for now, leave them be). Go to a local cafe and just people watch. For some of us, this is one of the thrills of travel but for some, it’s a stretch to just sit and watch. But it’s important. Without a camera to grab, you’re more forced to witness, to see how others interact.
Do people mainly keep to themselves or is there a lot of interaction? Do young people talk to old people and do they do it different than when they talk to those in their own age group? Where do people tend to gather? Can you spot old friends and how they interact? And discern that from new acquaintances? Is there much physical contact during a conversation or are people more reserved? Loud or hushed? Smiles or serious?
Spending a day observing before grabbing your camera will answer these questions and more. If you can’t spend a whole day, maybe just an hour will do. It’ll give you a better idea of who the strangers are around you. Spending this day without a camera may also have another benefit. I’ve found people are often more likely to chat with you if you don’t have a camera. You may then learn more about how locals socialize with tourists. You may also make a friend who can lead you to other insights about the area you are visiting. And they’ll probably be ok with you taking their picture the next time you meet.
You say you aren’t traveling and have no photo to share in the comments section below? I say take a look at how those around you in your home town socialize and try photographing that first. Practice at home will sharpen your skill when you’re faced with a foreign country and culture. And by all means, please share any shots you have of what socializing means to you in the comment section.
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Previous articles in the Travel Photography Subjects series include Water, Old People, Young People, Religion and Sports. Be sure to subscribe to this site to receive the other 15 subjects as they are posted!
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Bug and Bean Photography: shots from the BB picnic
I was thrilled when talented San Francisco family and lifestyle photographer Nancy Nguyen-Wong of Bug And Bean Photography asked if she could set up a photo station at the Boing Boing picnic! She's posted some selects from the picnic on her blog, including a sample of the portraits and also candid shots. If you're in the Bay Area and want a pro photo of your family or child, I couldn't recommend Nancy enough. She's really fun to be around and somehow manages to get the perfect shot while you're busy chatting or, depending on your age, babbling away. Bug and Bean Photography: BB Picnic
