My March 2024 Photo of the Month is TP305, photographed at San Diego’s Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.
TP305 Background
March was one of the months with a lot of activity, but I found myself uncertain on picking a suitable image for this blog post. Some of the excursions included areas of Mission Trails Regional Park, Sweetwater River and Steele Canyon, some local areas of Santee, the Birch Aquarium, and San Dieguito River Park. But my image highlights were mostly at the beginning of the month.
For a long time, I have avoided Torrey Pines due to perceived crowds, having to pay for parking, and a lot of hassle. Friend and reader Alex, suggested a good way to park and hike in, so we did just that. I was delighted that although it was a bit of a lengthy walk, the ability to get in the park easily was well worth it.
For those who are local, you know a couple things about March: rain, and our wildflowers are about a month late. So when a storm band was clearing, it seemed that Torrey Pines was perfect.
I shot a lot of images in different angles, but getting any Torrey Pine into an image is always great. This was at a crest in the trail we were hiking, where this particular tree was shadowed perfectly behind some late afternoon light. Because of the dramatic weather in the background, I chose a monochrome representation of the scene that I was happy with.
Rain Rain Rain
And we didn’t avoid the rain! While on our way back, we debated visiting Broken Hill, and decided that it must be visited since it was a nice evening and that landmark deserves some time and attention. We saw some virga to the Northwest that didn’t seem like a big deal. And of course, within a couple minutes, that storm cell hit us, and got us quite wet. This wasn’t a cold evening though, and beyond having to put the camera in my bag, it was pleasing to feel the weather. Southern Californians have it rough.
As always, thank for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.
Further Viewing
Photos of the Month Portfolio Archive
Greater San Diego Portfolio Archive
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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 Photographer’s Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.
That’s a very nice result — your “big sky” approach works so well with the little tree!