Tough Day South of the Border

Ok, it wasn't the "South of the Border" that most people think of. I was referring to South of the Orange County border. As a resident of The OC I get teased by non-residents that we are a little stuck up and rarely leave the confines of our bubble. Well, that was one serious tangent.

Anyhow, I spent Friday in North San Diego trying to photograph the Oceanside pier. First, the tide was too high which pushed me up against the back of the pier. This didn't give me the optimum shooting angle I try to get with my photos. I took an hour break for lunch in hopes that the tide would go down but I wasn't so lucky. Even with the high tide I timed the surf well enough to get a few photos. The second issue I had to contend with was a large group of children that insisted on playing under the pier. I am usually pretty patient in these situations because I know I don't have exclusive rights. However, I think these kids made it a personal goal to jump right in my shot right when I opened the shutter. I was expecting them to get tired after 30 minutes but that didn't happen. I think their parents must have been feeding them Red Bull. (If you look real close in the included photo you'll see their footprints.) Lastly, the lighting was really challenging over the hour long shoot. I had full sunlight, then I had overcast conditions, and then finished it off with fog. Yes, that was all in a 60 minute span and my fingers go tired adjusting my white balance setting. Needless to say, I was exhausted at the end of my session and felt as if I had spent three hours shooting.

For all my effort, I didn't walk away with a single photo that I could use. Most of the photos were mediocre at best and certainly not web worthy. On my next shoot I will time the tide better and go during the week to avoid Red Bull addicted kids. With regards to the rude weather conditions, all I can say is that I can only wish Oceanside was in The OC. I believe we've made a deal with a higher being to ensure we only have favorable shooting conditions.