Photographing beaches in S. Cali... sunset vs sunrise...

splproductions · Nov 19, 2016

I've got a business trip in Irvine, CA in February, and I'm thinking I may fly in a few days early and spend some time doing landscape photography. I'm from the Rocky Mountains, so I need some advice on this kind of shooting.

Since CA is the west coast, obviously sunset shots are going to be great. But what will the sunrise look like from a photography/lighting point of view (assuming I want the ocean to be part of these shots)?

I'd like to know if I'm going to have one window of opportunity each day (sunset) or two (sunrise and sunset) so I know how many days to plan.

Thanks!

splproductions · Nov 19, 2016

Also, I know certain times of the year are better for photographing certain locations. Does anyone know if February in S. Cali is going to be good? Dramatic clouds? Storms? Clear skies...

tirediron · Nov 20, 2016

I'm not a Californian, but I have photographed quite a bit from San Diego to San Francisco. Sunsets are great; no problem with those at all. You should have some opportunities for dramatic clouds and such, but of course the way luck runs, it will be a time of clear days. I don't know Irvine at all so I can't help you with specifics, but I have had some great 'sunrise over the city' shots around San Francisco.

KmH · Nov 20, 2016

Dramatic clouds? Storms? Clear skies...

Yes. All are possible.
You can start checking the 5 and 10 day forecasts for that area a couple weeks before you go.

The beaches near Irving, Huntington, Newport, and Laguna beaches mostly face south west.
Looking straight out to sea from southwest facing beaches the rising sun is going to be behind/over your left shoulder and in great position for shots out to sea.

You might want to put Corona Del Mar State Beach on your list because it faces more to the south and has a jetty on it's right side jutting out into the ocean that forms a entrance to Newport harbor.
There are also some nice tide pools nearby at Little Corona Beach.
A bit further southwest I always liked Little Treasure Cove and Pelican Point.

Corona Del Mar State Beach to Pelican Point is about 2 miles with Little Corona Beach and Little Treasure Cove between them.
You'll have to drive a bit in order to access each site because of cliffs between the sites.
There is some quite expensive on-the-cliffs housing in between to so you'll want a map so you can see beach access to Little Corona Beach and Little Treasure Cove.
Parking for Pelican Point is right off of Hwy 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) and it's a 1/4 mile or so hike to the point.

Derrel · Nov 20, 2016

February MAY/MIGHT have some spectacular crack-of-dawn sunrises opportunities, early in the AM, as the sun peeps over the mountains to the east of you. Some of the coolest west coast sunrises of the year are in January and February, but this is NOT an "everyday thing" that can be counted on like clockwork.

Sunsets? The biggest determinant of what the sunset will look like is "marine air" offshore a few miles...this varies with weather systems. At times, with heavy offshore marine air (low, rainy clouds) the sunset will be a mass of back-lighted clouds, and many times, quite unspectacular and even blah. IF the clouds are low and scattered, there could be glorious, back-lit clouds and gorgeous ocean waves in the foreground, and a fantastic sun-ball as well. How beautiful, pretty, or ugly the sunset is on the Pacific beaches muchly depends on what type of weather there is offshore. And, to an extent, on what you can put in the foreground of the photos! If you shoot from high-up, you can have a big foreground that might or might not be reflective water; if you are down ON the beach, your foregrounds will be different.