I visited the Cambria, California area in May of 2023 and am already planning a return visit. Cambria and the surrounding area offer quite a lot for landscape photographers, from cypress groves and forests to dramatic and rugged coastlines.

On a quiet Saturday afternoon, I visited Arroyo De La Cruz with the plan to photograph La Cruz rock. To my pleasant surprise, I had the entire beach to myself. I was expecting at least a few other visitors and photographers. I began hiking along the edge of the bluffs, taking in a few of the cliff faces and small alcoves with makeshift beaches, only accessible from the ocean.

The afternoon sun had broken up the morning fog, creating some cloud cover. Yet even in mid-afternoon, it was clear the bank of fog at the horizon would engulf the sun before sunset proper. I hustled along the rest of the trail to get down to the water’s edge. The sun sat above the looming marine layer, casting nice golden reflections on the beach. I set up in the shallows waiting for the right set of waves to rush in and surround the legs of my tripod. As the waves receded, I fired off a few frames capturing the ebb.

The sun began to dip behind the cloud bank hovering over the ocean. I turned my attention to the beach itself, which was peppered with tree branches and driftwood. Spring storms had washed a lot of debris on to the beaches. I found one curved tree branch isolated from the others and used it as a subject to anchor the foreground..

The light continued to fade. I turned my attention to La Cruz rock, the subject I’d intended to photograph all along. Opting for a long exposure and a moderate focal length, I framed up the rock in what fleeting light remained.

The sun slipped fully into the fog bank, all golden light faded, so I finished my visit to Arroyo De La Cruz with a few captures of the waves hitting the rocks at the base of the cliffs I’d hiked along and down. I fixed my tripod, focal length, and focus point and captured several volleys of waves. In post-processing, I opted to blend a few of the images together to balance the wave action across the frame.

I’m already looking forward to my next visit to the Cambria area. Perhaps in the fall months, when the fog isn’t as thick. Time will tell….