Aquarium. February 2021

One month ago, a massive swell delivered 40-foot-plus waves and the world’s best big wave surfers congregated to get rides of the decade. Most of my photographer friends wait patiently for the biggest swell of the year to shoot Mavericks. On the other hand, I wait patiently all year for the lowest swell which tends to happen around mid February to mid March. I was a bit spoiled from last year; Hawaii-like water at Ocean Beach with clarity I’ve never before seen. There wasn’t much hope this year, as XL swell after XL swell slammed the coast almost all winter, which was great for surf but not great for clarity. The swell finally dropped to 2-3 feet this week, but intermittent rainstorms made it difficult to pick the right day to dive. To have everything line up: the swell, the wind, the sun, and the tide, is a rarity around here. But it does happen, maybe once a year, or once every couple years, and today was one of those days. Three foot swell, a -1.0 ft low tide, and the marine layer burning off by the lunch hour, I dropped everything and returned to one of my favorite spots in all of California. 

Red and Yellows. February 2021

I spent several months reflecting on my photos from last year, figuring out which camera settings is ideal and what I could have improved on. As I jumped into the cold, clear, water, I was surrounded by vibrant marine life, sea stars of all colors, anemones, urchins, coral, even a nudibranch and camouflaged sculpins. It’s just crazy to see the amount of life per square foot here. It’s almost a contradiction, the more tumultuous the waves are, the more life exists. The walls along the underwater trench were alive and colorful. I was surprised to see the giant red and purple urchins in the same exact crevices as last year. Upon further research, red sea urchins can live up to 200 years old! It will be hard to harvest them for the dinner table knowing this fact, as they will provide decades of photographic joy if left alone. I’m not sure if I feel right chowing down my subjects especially in an area as teeming with life as this. I think the best way to enjoy the tide pools is to just be a spectator and an admirer. 

Coralline Sunset. February 2021

The more I return to the same spot over and over, the more I learn what factors would compromise its ideal conditions. The more time I spend exploring the coastline, the more I am asserted that the best things in life are free. I would go as far to say I don’t own any of my photos, nature created the scene after all. Nature is the real artist.