Golden hour, Point Reyes National Seashore

Pastures bathed in golden light and the deep blue of the Pacific drew my attention, and my lens, away from the grazing tule elk across the road on this surprisingly clear summer evening in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Tule elk in summer wildflowers, Point Reyes National Seashore

On this July 2016 evening, a small herd of tule elk were grazing in the wildflowers along the road to Drake’s Beach.

The shadows were getting long as the sun dropped toward the horizon, and these females slipped in and out of the warm rays, as a male watched over the harem.

Avocets in the salt ponds, Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge

Another treat of my July 2016 trip was taking a morning to catch the sunrise at Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge. This is a hotspot for large flocks of stilts and avocets, which are the birds that initially pulled me into photography over a decade ago.

I find avocets to be so elegant in how they look and move, and they’re a rarity to find back home in Massachusetts. The light wasn’t great by the time I made it around to the salt ponds, but I did appreciate that a few avocets wandered toward my position along the shoreline to offer a reflection in the quiescent water.

Rocky outcrop on Mt Tam

Following-up on my previous post, after being swallowed into the sea of gray at my first location, I drove out of the cloud and stopped at a rocky outcrop that was still above the fog. Despite being on opposite coasts, the texture and patterns in the stone reminded me of the glacier-scarred granite of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia (a place where I have unsuccessfully tried to photograph a similar vantage above the fog). The leading lines in stones like this capture my imagination, though I had trouble finding the right vantage to include both the stone and the distant rising fog.

Enveloped by fog, Mount Tamalpais State Park

In contrast to my 2014 trip, when I was scrambling to find the right pullout before missing the sunset, I arrived with plenty of time to spare on this trip. I chose my spot and sat on a rocky outcrop with enough time to meditate in the evening sunshine. Unknowingly, I selected a vantage point that was a little too low in elevation for the day’s weather conditions. I enjoyed watching the rising fog creep up the valleys and lap up against the lower outcrops of pines. Suddenly, something changed and the fog rapidly rose and fully enveloped my position. I went from warm sunlight and colors to being submerged in cold windy gray in just a few moments. Despite my best intentions of selecting one place for the sunset, I now had to race down the narrow trail of the hillside in thick pea soup to find my rental car so that I could drive to a higher elevation to take advantage of the remaining light somewhere else.