Surfing in Santa Cruz
November 18th, 2019
The day started with a colorful, yet cold morning in Davenport, CA, just up the coast from my mailbox in Santa Cruz. Often, I would make the trek to watch the sunrise and seek out waves for dawn patrol, but the reality is often a foggy and waveless day. However, this morning was one of those special days.
Walking out on the beach with a warm beverage in the left hand and camera in the right, I started soaking in the views. It was dark, but soon the day sun would shine. The clouds overhead were breaking up nicely, so the sunrise was going to be good, and I was ready. Posting up in some of my favorite places, I framed up a couple of shots, downed my warming tea, and started snapping. As the waves crashed into the beach, the ocean spray soaked me. Backing away from the break and checking my camera, all was good.
As the morning went on, surfers enjoyed the swell and I eventually swam out to photograph from the water. My water housing for my favorite camera was being repaired, so I was shooting on an older body with not the best lenses, so nothing really turned out, unfortunately. Davenport is a long swim, so by the time I went out, photographed, and came back, it was lunchtime.
After a quick lunch, I headed back to Santa Cruz to shoot the sunset at the Lane. Unhappy with how the water shots of the morning went, I decided to stay on the cliffs and shoot. Quite happy I did this. Playing with speed blurs and different angles, I had a great time. The sunset was just like the sunrise, a gift of color!
