SoCalSights

5 entries · by Astrid

Notes from the road.

Trips, weather, light, and the drives in between. First-person dispatches from Southern California, one day at a time.

The Botanical Building’s pale pink facade and curved wooden-lath dome rise above the lily pond, with the arched windows and columns mirrored in the still water. Lily pads and koi drift in the foreground under a clear blue morning sky.
Restless

12 min read

A Morning That Kept Changing

I drove south for a still morning at the lily pond and spent most of the day waiting to find out what the sky actually intended to do.

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A weathered picnic table sits on damp, rippled sand in a desert campground, with a fire ring, shrubs, and sunlit granite boulders in the background under a clear blue sky. The ground looks freshly washed by rain, with shallow runoff channels cutting through the campsite.
Elated

4 min read

Jumbo Rocks, Years Later, Golden

A return to a stack of granite I once photographed carelessly, and the September evening that finally slowed me down.

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Sunny beach scene with the Huntington Beach Pier stretching over calm blue water, its dark pilings and red-roofed buildings set against a wide sky with thin clouds. A few people stand on the sand and near the shoreline, giving the scene a relaxed daytime feel.
Weary

7 min read

The Pier Under Gray Light

I drove out for a sunset that never arrived, and made a few frames from what August actually gave me.

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A smiling woman in a white swimsuit and sheer cover-up stands on a sunny sandy beach beside a tall tan sea stack, with small waves rolling in under a clear blue sky. The light is bright and direct, casting a sharp shadow on the sand.
Precise

6 min read

A Minus Tide, Two Stops

A minus tide lined up with sunset at El Matador, and I followed the last of the day inland to Solstice Canyon before the light gave out.

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A lone flamingo-like wading bird stands in shallow water under warm pink-orange light, with dark reflective lagoon water and soft blurred shoreline bands behind it. The scene feels quiet and still, with the bird centered against a low, glowing horizon.
Wry

6 min read

One Flower, Ignored Birds

I went to Buena Vista Lagoon with a long lens and every intention of using it. I did not.

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