I had a very productive photography trip to California in 2018 where one evening on the beach yielded three amazing photos. I posted two of these in the past – Sunset and Twilight – and now here’s the third: Waves. This photo was shot roughly 23 minutes later than Sunset and about 12 minutes earlier than Twilight. The light had not quite dimmed as much as it had for the later photo, so I was able to capture the waves in motion rather than as a long-exposure blur.

This photo is a companion to a previous photo of a Venice Beach sunset I took in 2019. Both photos show Venice’s iconic lifeguard stations on the same evening, although I took this one of a different hut later towards twilight.

When Gwen and I visited Carmel-by-the-Sea in 2018, I took advantage of California’s geography and beaches to take photos of the sunset. The last time I posted a photo from this trip, it was from right before the sun had set below the horizon. This photo is from well after sunset – about 35 minutes later than the earlier photo. This was well into “blue hour” territory, and one could argue the light was closer to dark than blue. But from the very last drop of light in the sky, I was able to compose and shoot this piece of driftwood on the beach.

My work travel sometimes take me to the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, but in the past I had never brought along my camera. My previous trips were always in the winter (or whatever passes for winter in LA), which meant shorter days and less opportunity to get out and watch the sunset. But on my recent trip in late-April, I knew I would finally have a chance to see the beach on a wonderfully sunny late afternoon.

I have so many fond memories of watching sunsets on the west coast, and I always try to catch them whenever I can. There’s something magical about seeing the sun drop down and then disappear below a wall of waves – giving a final valedictory glow to the continent before darkness. When I visited Carmel-by-the-Sea last month, I knew I wanted to catch that same experience with a photo from the beach.