Santa Monica Bay, Northern Los Angeles Coastline
Pt Mugu is not iconic for photographers but in cinema is it gets worked to death. Most of all cinema work is done from the road and it’s usually car commercials full of curving road with Mugu Rock as the backdrop. This was taken down on the sliver of boulders in between the shore and Pacific Coast Highway so removing the evidence of man is the most challenging thing in the area. As urban as it may be you can still keep the feeling of a beautiful seascape. The Channel Islands lay vaguely in the distance.
When I first started photographing landscapes I was gone to often and my friends began to think I was a recluse. I was the guy that was most likely to be living on a mountain where there are no roads. Shooting closer to home can keep you happy and keep your social life well oiled. I will always get that phone call from a friend saying, “Let me guess you’re on a ____ in _____?” I’m usually never more then a few hours from home.
Part of the Ventura County Collection
Workshop info here.
Tags: beaches, mugu rock, pt mugu, santa monica mountains, SoCal, Southern California, ventura county
Steve Sieren's Blog 
May 22, 2010 at 12:40 pm |
Even though I feel sunsets are usually overdone, this is an excellent photograph. I love the repetition of rock forms and the mood. If I had been present and had the awareness and the eye to select this framing of the scene, you can bet I would not have passed up the opportunity to make this photograph.
May 22, 2010 at 1:36 pm |
David, yes the sunsets are truly overdone. One thing with most seascape photography is most of only conveys water, rocks, and sky. Most of the time and many of beach shots do suffer from not having any identification on where it is. If go all the way to Mexico to take a similar photograph that doesn’t make you wonder where it was taken then I don’t have a point in traveling so far for photographs if I can make the typical rock, sea, sky shots only 20 minutes from home. Something different needs to get thrown in the ocean every now and then.
May 22, 2010 at 7:16 pm |
You’re right about the car commercials, there is a current Nissan advertisement on TV. I wouldn’t have known where it was unless you mentioned it. That’s beautiful and that must be Anacapa out there?
May 23, 2010 at 12:28 pm |
Yes Jenny, that is Annacapa Island out there. Thanks!
June 1, 2010 at 3:19 pm |
Hey Steve,
I always love this location, even though it is over-used.
The color and light in the foreground and the shadows on Magu rock give it a very different mood than the norm.
I don’t remember seeing this on Flickr, it would be one of my favorites.
June 3, 2010 at 7:58 pm |
Thanks Michelle, I’ll have to post it there eventually. It’s really hard to figure out what to post. I really like posting things that might work.