Is there ever such a thing as too offshore (for surfers)? The weather forecast predicted wind gusts up to 40+ mph which was bad news for the wildfires but exciting news for surfers and surf photographers. I heard the wind howling in the early hours of the morning. At the crack of dawn, I put on my wind breaker and headed out to see how the ocean looked. Most of the smoke had blown south, allowing the morning light to shine through. The wind gusts were so strong it felt like a sandstorm at the beach, causing difficulty standing up straight at times. The swell came up and I could see the inside current ripping south. A few dawn patrollers attempted to paddle out. The wind was substantial enough to create offshore white caps, and caused the lips of the waves to be very crumbly. Once in a while admits the chaotic looking sea, a gem peak or left would appear. It didn’t take long for sand to get into my eyes and all over my camera; I quickly took some shots and returned to shelter.
Another round of “nuclear or dud” commenced tonight. An hour before sunset, the sky was gray, and the horizon had a thick gray cloud layer which usually indicates a dud (i.e. not a good sunset) due to the horizon being blocked. I noticed the cloud layer seemed closer in distance than the higher clouds; there was a bit of orange color glowing from underneath. I had a hunch it was going to be a burn if the horizon was clear behind the cloud layer. After many times of missing good sunsets by being lazy, sitting at home, and hoping it was going to be anticlimactic, I decided it was best to take the camera out and see the result. As I left the house, I saw the clouds behind me light up; it almost looked as if they caught fire. I ran as fast as I could to the beach. The clouds ignited with orange and pink before my eyes, as I kept telling myself “I knew it I knew it”. I had my zoom lens on so I couldn’t capture the entire sky, but I was about to see the details of the clouds. Even though the waves were mediocre, there’s nothing like watching nature’s color show. Long after the sun went down, the clouds still had color, still burning.
