Morro Rock Beach

• Gustav Mahler.

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Since the day I first saw it, the massive volcanic plug on the beach, Morro Rock has had a special place in my heart. Something about it always attracts me and I have dragged my wife and various members of my family enough times to see this amazing geological formation. But spring is here and when we had beautiful weather in SoCal we decided to head out to Montana de Oro State park and see if we could get a nice sunset shot of Morro Bay. Last time we went there, we took the southern vistas of the rock and this time decided to head north of the Rock to get the classic reflection shot.

My plan was to get a shot of Morro Rock with beach dunes as foreground interest but when we reached about an hour before sunset, we learned that the dunes were closed because of nesting season. So I decided to stick with the classic view of Morro Rock from the beach with the reflection of the sunset sky in the beach.

Sunset was pretty muted due to the thin veil of fog that was present that day and colors only turned vivid once the sun actually went down the horizon. This shot was made with the Nikon’s new D850 and my trusty 24-70, with a 2 stop ND grad used to balance the foreground and the sky.

• Emily Dickinson.

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Morro Bay has always been one of my absolute favorite places to visit along the California coastline. When you start your trip from Los Angeles, Morro Bay is the last major town before heading into the Big Sur coast. Due to this reason, I have always found ourselves at MorroBay for pitstops getting ready for our trip north. After I started taking an interest in bird/wildlife photography, I got to make a trip to MorroBay to visit this beautiful location. With its strategic location and beautiful beaches, it is an essential waypoint for migratory birds, and it was the first serious wildlife spot I have had the chance to explore as a birder.

While we were there to photograph birds, for the most part, I kept an eye out for the sunset light. I was not disappointed. Just as the golden hour started, beautiful sidelight began to pour in and light the sides of the giant volcanic plug. I had to wait a bit for the perfect wave, and eventually, one of them lined up just right. I would have liked the sun a little to the north and better lighting on the rock face, but the more I look at it, the more I think the golden light just on the edge of the rock formation works well.

• Isak Dinesen.

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Another shot from our trip to Morro Bay. I took it about an hour before sunset and used a telephoto lens for a tight crop. Previously my go to lens for vast landscapes was always a wide or standard lens but lately I have been forcing myself to use telephotos to see more details which are present in vast landscapes. The moment I saw that small haystack next to the giant Morro rock, I knew I wanted to get an intimate shot of that rock formation. Once I used the telephoto focal length I also noticed the tons of birds on them. I also wanted to include the gentle waves to give the scene some depth.