Sunset Bay State Park
The sun came out about 10:00 this morning, so we drove up to Simpsons Reef to photograph the seals, sea lions, and elephant seals. The males congregate on the small islands that dot the reef. Today, most of them filled a tiny beach on the largest of the islands. It was like standing room only for seals. There were volunteers at the overlook to educate the visitors about the marine life. They provided spotting scopes and binoculars, as well as answering questions and getting the kids interested in the seals and sea lions. They were very good.
As high tide approached, I turned my interest to the waves crashing on the outer edge of the reef. They were a long way off, so I used my 400 mm zoom and a doubler. At that distance, the focus had to be exact, and I mistakenly focused on the rocks instead of the top of the waves. I may want to try shooting them again another day at high tide.
We returned to Cape Arago to shoot sunset at Drakes Point. We had the viewpoint to ourselves most of the time, and the lighting was good as sunset approached. And then--just like almost every other day--the sun hit the fog bank and the show was over.