My September 2017 Photo of the Month is Great Beyond, an image photographed at Shell Beach near La Jolla Cove in San Diego.
Great Beyond Background
Friday Nights are usually an evening where I catch up on all the rest I didnât get during the work week. My good friend Tom Applegate had other ideas, and told me to get my gear ready to head to La Jolla. Unlike me, Tom managed to find a parking spot almost instantly. Regular visitors to La Jolla Cove know that doesnât happen often.
When we arrived, we had options. Â Hospitals Reef was discussed, but I thought there would likely be a number of people set up there. Â I suggested we give Shell Beach a try, which is located just North of the Childrenâs Pool.
My Skyfire App did not quite predict the light we would get, but as the light got lower, it sure seemed promising. Â There was little to know marine layer, and these clouds were far from ordinary for San Diego. Â Indeed, they had much more water content.
After the sun set, we saw the glow begin. Â I am sure there are areas of the country more accustomed to these beautiful reds and purples, but living in a comparatively arid environment, we know we were seeing something spectacular.
I was quite focused, but a photographer knows he isnât the only person spellbound by the light when messages started coming in. Â In fact, friends like Lee, Alex, and Darina were all messaging some version of âWow!â as the light was at its peak.
This image is far from perfect. Â I enjoy breaking photographic dogma, so I am not greatly concerned that the horizon is near center. Â I believe in photographic balance, which allows for more subtlety than some of the hard-set ârulesâ you hear people recite as law.
A couple elements draw the eye in other areas, and due to some unsightly lines, I only captured a portion of the Childrenâs Pool.
Still, I am quite satisfied with this image and think it fits well in my Photo of the Month portfolio.
Being Productive
This turned out to be an incredible month for photographing San Diego County, perhaps my most productive month locally ever. Â The weather was perfect in that the heat was forestalling marine layer season (I am writing this in heavy fog as we speak), but we had monsoonal weather providing all kinds of dramatic action.
I probably photographed more rainbows this month than any other. Â The Laguna Crest was incredible on every visit. Â I greatly improved the images I had from the Lake Henshaw area.
Despite this selection, I still have a voluminous backlog in images to process from September 2017. Â Hope to have a few more sneak into my portfolio very soon!
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the images.
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.