For anyone who has read this blog for a while, you already know the love I have for the ocean. As thrilling as walking through old-growth forests with towering Redwoods was, any time spent on the ocean created a bit of tug-of-war with our time and priorities. This particular beach was discovered by chance, and a bit of direction, indirectly, from California photographer Larry Ulrich.
Larry has an informal gallery in Trinidad, California that is part of a gift shop and small cafe. I had no idea Larry actually lived in Trinidad but was familiar with his name and some of his work. He had some beautiful shots of California’s coastline, some with great rock formations and sea stacks. A few of these were from a spot called Houda Point that immediately sparked my curiosity.
Finding Trinidad Bay – Houda Point
Well, a bit of Googling and browsing through some guide books showed it was a beach just south of this cafe. The beach isn’t marked with any formal name, we had actually driven past it once before. To find it we had to spot the benches that were described in a guidebook, and then find the trail that led down the cliffs. It turned out to be a great beach for exploring. Nestled in Trinidad Bay, it had a lot of large rock formations and sea caves. One could really spend an entire day here exploring depending on the tides. We only had a few short evening hours, and fortunately, the tide was going out, granting a bit more access to different elements as time passed.
Cloudy skies and a bit of fog were giving hints that there may be no color around for evening twilight. I always have hope the sun will light up the sky at the very last minute when it dips below the horizon.
At one end of the beach, we found some sea stars that were hanging around on some rocks. As divers, of course, we love discovering any sea life. My wife and I had fun discovering actually how many sea stars were there. It seemed for everyone we found, there were another 2 or 3 waiting to be discovered. We must have found over 20.
The magic light never happened that evening, but that was fine. I had great company, and any time spent with the ocean is never wasted.
A great blog with amazing images you have. I will keep an eye on your blog.
Regards
I have to add my voice to the others Mark. That B/W is spectacular. Beautiful work.
Appreciate the comment PJ!
I just love that beach scene and especially in black and white. Growing up along the Colorado Front Range the ocean was always too far away to enjoy. However, I am also drawn to the coast and for some reason a rocky turbulent coast calls louder.
Same for me Monte. I will take a rocky, rough coast anyday…. but at times, a tranquil, turquoise Caribbean coast sounds pretty inviting as well.
Great detective work finding that beach. I agree with many of the previous comments here: your black and white image turned out very well. The finding of the beach sounds like an interesting adventure and the photograph made it all well worthwhile.
Thanks a lot David. Sometimes the stars are aligned in our favor.
Beautiful shots, Mark! I especially like the sea start nestled amongst the barnacles and anemones — some really great colors and textures!
Thanks Pat. Maybe slimy, slippery, smelly textures, but textures nonetheless. 🙂
I must say that I prefer the starfish to the beach scene. I think its the combination of desaturated colours and lovely deep textures and you know, the starfish 🙂
Suzy
Thanks Suzy. I would have preferred seeing the starfish underwater and have all the anemones out with their tentacles.
Oh, this scene looks very, very good in this light. The shadow play, the swirls from the currents, that beautiful sky; it’s a truly wonderful image you have there. It’s far more interesting like this, in b+w, without the sunset. You get to see its true nature.
Thanks Ove. You picked up on the characteristics I enjoy out of this image also!
What a wonderful discovery for you, Mark. I love the California landscape with all of the cliffs and the ocean. Also, no need to wake up early to catch sunrise! 🙂
Thanks Paul. Sunrise was pretty much non-existent as far as any good light. Not so much because of the cliffs, but more due to fog.
It is true that I have never developed a deep affinity for the ocean; but, after seeing these photos, sign me up! I second Earl’s nomination for the first one as a member of the favorites list. For one thing, it is a lesson in depth. By the time I reach the far end, I cannot wait to return to the beginning and start all over again. I also enjoyed very much the inspiring story of your journey to the destination. The next time I am tempted to give up too soon, I hope I will remember this story.
Thanks Anita.
Mark, an absolutely lovely beach photograph that works well in b&w. I would add this as one of my favorites of yours. I also like the detail and textures in the Sea Star shot but I’m not drawn to it the way I am the beach image.
Now I can’t help but see some irony in the fact someone who loves the ocean so much ends up living in Michigan. 🙂
I like the beach more as well Earl. I just added the sea star for the story element. :-). Don’t rub in the irony Earl. 😉
NIce post Mark and I really like the use of b/w. Inspiring. Thanks for sharing. Hopi saludos!
Thanks a lot Marco. I hope you are doing well. We miss Bonaire.
These are really nice, Mark, but the beach image is spectacular. Who need sunset colors when the scenery is so beautiful.
Thanks Ken. True, for some situations, color isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.