My February 2022 Photo of the Month is SC122, taken on a beautiful morning in San Diegoâs Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.
SC122 Background
Save for 1.5 days in late February, our rain season continued to be dry and parched. I think my house reached a high of 93 degrees, which isnât something that should be happening in February. People I know would remark about the âbeautiful weather outsideâ as I look at this dreary and bone-dry area without a single cloud in the sky. Our climateâŚ.itâs changing.
The final weekend of the month brought a couple good opportunities to get out, though. I blogged earlier about hiking in Mission Trails, even if I have grown a little bored of doing the same thing all the time.
And yet! I did something I havenât allowed myself to do in 2 years. I actually photographed at the Coast. When we went into lock-down in March 2020, I wouldnât even consider going. And from there, when we learned that being outside is much safer than we realized, I found the crowds to be too much. My introvert and COVID-anxiety gears kicked into overdrive, and I wouldnât think about visiting anywhere with a lot of people. For the most part, that meant the San Diego coast was largely off-limits in my head.
I tried in late December to get back to Sunset Cliffs, and I was just shocked at all the people, especially with the Omicron variant on the way. It largely did what we thought it would.
But now we are in late February, and I felt a little more confident. I still wasnât willing to tempt the Cliffs at Sunset, that would have to come later. But I enjoyed a very calm and peaceful morning. I photographed at old muse, Ross Rock (also known locally as Birdshit Rock). This wasnât a new composition by any means, I have photographed this seastack way too many times. But it was nice to be out, and also to feel good about the process.
I still think we have a ways to go in this pandemic, and additional variants and other unexpected developments are a given. But in a time where I am still struggling to interact with people, coupled with the very sad and unfortunate news in Ukraine, stealing a couple moments to appreciate the surf, the waves, the sounds, and still get a little solitude was very nice. I shall do it again soon.
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.
Further Viewing
Greater San Diego Portfolio Gallery
T.M. Schultze Print-On-Demand Fine Art America Store
T.M. Schultze is a San Diego-based photographer, traveller, and writer. He writes, photographs, and draws things of the outdoors that have inspired humans for thousands of years. He co-authored the Photographerâs Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.
Beautiful image, TM!
Thanks Tom, I have been enjoying the work you post, especially because I suck at close-ups!