Salt Point State Park

Like most folks I find myself surfing the web of infinite images of landscape photography. Of course we always wonder about what I call the W’s, or the who, what, when, why and just as importantly the how. Landscape photography isn’t just about the F-stop or shutter speed. Most people, perhaps like yourself, don’t care about the technicality aspects of the images. I’m happy to share those aspects and will discuss a bit of the technical side of the images moving forward as I am sure some might be interested, but what I really want to share is the behind the scenes of the images, the feelings and emotions, planning and execution, traveling details, details of the location, accommodations, who I met and travelled with during these often short expeditions fairly close to home. My hope is that the glimpse into the behind the scenes of making the image might give you the viewer a bit more insight into my process’, struggles and joys of photography in order for you to hopefully pull your own emotions from the image you see.

THE TRIP

My wife Audrey and I love to camp. To say our beloved white lab Cali also loves to camp is an understatement, she is almost always with us and so is our Bengal cat Mumford. We had planned this short vacation for December of 2022, unfortunately the weather was so bad that we decided not to go in fear that the creeks might flood our home. So we booked and planned to stay at Gerstle Cove Campground between December 27th and January 1st for the New Year in 2023, with the hopes the weather might be a bit more cooperative.

Salt Point State Park is an incredible location with its many tide pools, Tafoni formations within the sandstone shore, abundance of pines and even a pygmy forest to hike through. A curious note about Salt Point State Park is that it is the only state park where mushrooms are legal to be picked. For more information on the park please visit https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=453 There are a couple of campgrounds in the area, most notably Gerstle Cove and Woodside campgrounds. These campgrounds have running water restrooms, campsites have fire rings, firewood for sale on premisses and is a quiet campground, the sites are well spread apart and can handle rigs up to 30’ in length. For more info on the campgrounds please visit https://www.sonomacounty.com/outdoor-activities/gerstle-cove . If you ever plan on visiting this area, leave plenty of time for the road, Highway 1 in this area is treacherous and is a slow go, especially while towing a trailer, stop along the way to enjoy the views between Bodega Bay and Salt Point.

Arriving on the 27th of December proved to be a bit difficult setting up our trailer under a torrential downpour, non the less we managed without any issues, I was happy to have loaded the trailer with all it could carry for water as the parks plumbing was faulty and if we used the water offered we would have had to boil to drink. The first night was a bit tough on us as the rain just kept pounding non stop. Alas morning came and the rain subsided a bit. At the crack of 0’ dark way too early, Audrey and I loaded Cali up in the truck and headed down the road to an area on the north end of the park to a waterfall that drops into the sea (if you want the exact location contact me directly). Once there at the location we could see that the sea was absolutely in chaos and way too dangerous to approach the waterfall area, we stood back on the bluff and observed the madness in awe. The scene before us was absolutely amazing, while I was setting up my gear, Audrey spoke to her sister on a call and through her found out that on that particular day was the King Tide. We had just lucked out that we were there during the king tide, we certainly didn’t have any plans or expectations.

Video By Audrey Novaes

The Earth That Bleeds F7.1 1/3 second ISO 200

THE IMAGE

The waves were massive as far to the north and south as our eyes could see. Come to find out, fifth wheel trailers parked too close to the shore were being swept away into the ocean in the San Francisco Bay Area, waves were washing cars off of their tires in other parts of the coast. The waves were battering the entire north coast. It looked as if wave after wave beat the shore into submission, breaking rocks, throwing them onto the shore, pulling soil out to sea, the normal presence of sea lions and seals were nowhere to be seen amongst this madness, the winds were blowing non stop. It was a massive swirl of sea, land and sky all in one. We had front row seats to a private show and what seemed like backstage VIP passes. Armed with my 100-500MM RF Canon lens, I started firing away at the waves, crash after crash, they just kept coming. I’ve been around the ocean most of my life and for years was a Commercial and Technical Scuba Diver. I have witnessed the damage that the power of the sea can cause after Hurricane Katrina and Ivan salvaging remains of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico years ago, but have never seem such ocean brutality and power up close. I kept taking images, fast shutter speeds, on a tripod, close ups of the waves, up the coast and down the coast. The ocean spray was constant and I had to keep digging out Kimtech wipes constantly and keep the camera rig covered with a micro towel while photographing to avoid damage. Of the 500+ images I made that morning only a few truly express what I saw, witnessed and felt.

In particular this image above that I call “ The Earth That Bleeds”. I call it this because of the dark brown foam in the wave, how it battered the shore, pulled in soil and mixing it all to create a blend of water, air and soil. This image captures the dark side of nature, within the wave I can see a perfect tube a surfer might ride on a better day, dragging his or her hand along the vertical wall of the wave. On the outside it is danger, turmoil, despair, fear. The soil and foam flying above the wave as if the wind is attempting to stop the eminent violence about to occur. It all comes together to me in this image. The magnificent and powerful ocean.

Image By Audrey Novaes

Throughout the State Park you can find all sorts of flowers, fungi, mushrooms and vegetation. during one of our trips to the shore we witnessed a few Calla Lillies here and there and decided to continue with my familiarization with the Lensbaby Velvet 85mm. Thanks to Ann Belmont’s recommendations https://www.annebelmontphotography.com/ I still have lots to learn using these lens’ Below is an image I made usind the lensbaby.

Lensbaby 85MM Velvet F2.0

During our trip we were also able to drive up the coast and visit Point Arena lighthouse, the closest point to Hawaii from the mainland. While the King Tides were still in effect they were not as they were on Thursday December 28th, 2023. At this location I worked on creating a long exposure image. This image required me to stand only a foot away from what looked like a direct 175’ fall from the cliff. I should say I am not fond of heights in anyway. The scene below conjures up images we explored while at the lighthouse museum, ships wrecked and beached along the shore with desperate men clinging to the rigging hoping and awaiting rescue that may never come. This is the reason I call it Hull Breaker. Watching the waves crash into the rocks jutting from the sea, I can only imagine the fear of sailors past and present stuck on these shores. Salvage here would be an incredible feat to accomplish. Glad to see there is a lighthouse to warn sailors.

Hull Breaker. 27MM/ F11 / 8 seconds w/ LEE100 ND filters

Image By Audrey Novaes

Point Arena Lighthouse Museum

If you have made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read about my photography and our adventures. I am hoping that in 2024 I can continue to supply you with more reading content and meaningful expressive photography. Until next time, be kind to our world and one another.

James and Audrey Novaes