On one of the more perfect days in recent memory, last Sunday I was fortunate to join my new friends Alan Pottasch and Veronika Vrbacka, and about a dozen of their closest friends, for an impromptu wedding on the San Onofre Bluffs followed by a reception party at nearby Surf Beach. The location is special to the couple, as they regularly spend several days a week surfing there, driving down and sleeping in their kick-ass VW van. The ceremony was held along trail 6 on a tabletop cliff overlooking the ocean. Just before the ceremony began, a group of dolphins was seen swimming among surfers far below. The site was marked by a rug covered in rose petals. As many days do along the coast, this one started out overcast. But just like clockwork, the cloud cover started to burn off around the 10 o’clock hour when the wedding was to begin. This created a picture perfect environment of mixed light, giving the scene a combination of warm skin tones and a seafoam blue background. For fifteen minutes, the group of friends gathered there as the couple said their vows and exchanged rings. During the ceremony several surfers stopped along the path to witness the event. Included in that group was actor Mad Men actor John Slattery, who was being followed by a lone photographer, likely paparazzi, who stopped for a moment to focus his lens on the wedding. Following the ceremony we did some quick group photos before piling into our cars and heading to Surf Beach. The couple had reserved a shelter known as the Dogpatch. We spent the rest of the day there eating great food, surfing and generally enjoying ourselves. This also marked Erinn’s first day of surfing, which is very exciting as she can now join me rather than watch from the beach. I wish I’d taken pictures, but we were out there at the same time. As the day wound down we joined another group that was there around a campfire and sat around talking and laughing until the park closed. The next day we reconvened for a late-morning surf session before heading back to the real world. A really great couple of days!

The official line at San Onofre State Beach

Biking at Camp Pendleton

Erinn and I spent a couple days last week camping at San Onofre State Beach and surfing at nearby Surf Beach. The camping, sandwiched between the bluffs and I-5 and an active Amtrak rail, leaves something to be desired, but Surf Beach may be my new favorite place in Southern California. As a novice surfer, there’s really no place better that I’ve found in my limited experience. The beach is a mile or so long with low waves steadily rolling in for most of the day, making it a great place to learn without fear of getting thrashed about.

Aside from 4 trips out into the surf, we also went for an afternoon bike ride on a trail that runs through Camp Pendleton, which begins on the south side of the park and extends for miles down to Oceanside, just north of San Diego. Not really the prettiest scenery there, but it made for a good ride.

We also met up with some friends Erinn knows through work who frequent the beach despite the 1 1/2 hour trek from LA. They do it right though, cruising down in a late-model VW camper complete with a bed and small kitchen. We met up with them on the beach and then joined them at their van, where they treated us to a home cooked meal.

Oh, and despite the beach’s reputation as a nude beach, we saw no sign of it other than numerous signs warning would-be nudists to keep their shorts on.

Nude beach or not, I’m sure we’ll be heading back there soon and often.

Biking at Camp Pendleton

Lunch at our friends' camper at Surf Beach

Erinn at San Onofre State Beach

Walking dogs at San Onofre State Beach

Sunset at San Onofre State Beach bluffs

Windsurfing at Huntington Beach

The Exposure section of the July issue of Outside magazine features a double truck photo I took earlier this year at Huntington Beach. On my way home from a meeting with an ad agency in Irvine I decided to swing by the beach to look for photos. It had been raining unusually hard that day all across Southern California and I figured the late afternoon sun that had started peaking through the storm clouds would make for some great images. When I got there the sun only lasted 2 minutes before an approaching set of clouds darkened the sky, ruining the beautiful light that had drawn me there. To my surprise though, as I walked along the beach near the pier, I saw a couple kites dancing around the gloomy skyline to the north. I figured they were only power kites being flown from the beach, but as I approached I saw that there were actually a couple of daring kite surfers taking advantage of the choppy water and high winds that had probably deterred the majority of their brethren. I figured they weren’t going to be out there for long and started jogging up the beach to get a closer shot. My timing was perfect, as they lasted only another minute before packing it in.

I blogged a couple of other photos from this experience just after it happened, but since this one just made it into print I figured I’d share it as well. The Exposure page is an ongoing feature in the magazine that focuses on unique outdoor photography and shares the photographers’ camera settings and a brief interview about the photographers’ experience. This one, besides being a nice stormy weather shot, I think had particular interest to them because of the recent relevance of offshore drilling. I hadn’t put much thought about it when taking the shot, but it’s amazing to see how close to the shore California once allowed wells to be drilled. Apparently, until 2008 there was a ban on new offshore stemming from a 1969 oil spill that leaked 4 million gallons of crude off the Santa Barbara coast. The ban was allowed to lapse after “drill now” pressures in response to skyrocketing gas prices. However, members of California’s congress are now pushing to reinstate it in light of recent events.

Exposure usually only features one photographer, from what I’ve seen, but this month there are four, all related to water. If you turn the page you’ll see a fantastic aerial photo of the Colorado River in Canyonland’s National Park by fellow Aurora Photos contributor and National Geographic regular Peter McBride. Not bad company to be in!

After a meeting with an agency in Irvine today I decided to drive up the coast from Newport Beach to Long Beach just to explore. When I got to Huntington Beach there was a gorgeous light coming from behind an approaching storm cloud that forced me out of my car just south of the Huntington Beach Pier. Just north of the pier I spotted some kites and figured they were just power-kiters out on the beach, but then I saw one pop up in the air and realized there were actually people out kite surfing, despite, or more likely because of the large choppy waves being produced by the stormy weather. I hustled over their way and despite their moving quickly away from me I was able to catch up enough to get off a couple shots just before they packed it in as the black storm cloud got too close for comfort. I’d hoped to get one of them popping out of the water or a close-up of them battling the waves, but was still happy with what I got. I then spent a few minutes with John Moynihan, 24, as he packed up his gear and walked his kite back to the car. A self-described ‘gypsy sailor,’ Moynihan lives on a sailboat that currently resides in nearby Newport Beach. After this I parted ways with him. And just in time, as the rain started to come down and I was a quarter mile away from my car. I packed up my gear and headed back. We’ve had an unusual week here with daily storms and even a few tornados touching down. There was even one in Seal Beach today, which I drove through after shooting this, but I didn’t see anything. I’ve got a couple more stormy weather photos I’ll put up tomorrow or the next day.

I spent a beautiful Saturday morning at Sunset Beach Pacific Palisades shooting a bunch of costume-clad surfers who were there for the 7th annual Doo Dah Surf Day, a fundraiser that benefits the West LA/Malibu chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, which aims to protect the world’s oceans and beaches. Larger than normal swells apparently kept a lot of the surfers away, but a couple dozen still showed up in a variety of costumes like aliens, grandmothers the “chairman of the board,” and even “Octomom,” complete with red puffy lips and 8 baby dolls fastened to the nose of the board.

A couple of random shots from an evening walking around Venice.