Thanksgiving eve at Little Corona Del Mar Beach

Beach, California, Orange County, Photography

Wednesday marked my last day of work before Thanksgiving break. Shortly after finishing my final lecture, Michelle and I enjoyed a late lunch out and then zipped down to Little Corona Beach for the sunset. I just happened to have my full set of camera gear with me, so I was able to snap a few large number of frames.

I’ve previously posted about my long exposure work at Little Corona, and yesterday I continued in the same style.  But this time instead of either a crystal clear sky or a marine layer, I had patchy clouds to work with:

Sunset at Little Corona, focusing on the arch rock visible just off shore, with the rocky intertidal in the foreground and clouds drifting overhead. This is a long exposure shot, so the ocean's water looks silky smooth. (Marc C. Perkins)
Clouds over the intertidal at sunset.

The arch rock was particularly photogenic, especially with soft clouds washing overhead:

A vertical view of the arch rock offshore at Little Corona after sunset, in black and white using a long exposure to make the ocean water silky smooth. I love the soft curves of the clouds drifting overhead. (Marc C. Perkins)
Vertical arch rock and clouds in black and white.
The arch rock at Little Corona seen on a cloudy evening just after sunset. I love the soft dusk lighting illumindating the diffuse clouds overhead. The image is a long exposure, so the ocean's waves have morphed into a silky smooth misty layer. (Marc C. Perkins)
Arch rock and soft clouds in black and white.

And while the sunset wasn’t spectacularly colorful, the gorgeous deep blue of dusk was out in full force at the end of the evening:

The sun sets over a cloudy Catalina Island, as seen from Little Corona. This picture was taken after sunset, so stars have started to appear (note the one in the mid-left of the sky), and the sun is leaving just a hint or orange and yellow in an otherwise deep blue sky. (Marc C. Perkins)
The sun sets over a cloud-shrouded Catalina Island, as seen from Little Corona Beach. A single star (planet?) is visible on the left side of the sky.

Visiting Little Corona was a great way to start our Thanksgiving.  I hope you and yours have a most excellent day, and a great start to the holiday season.

More pictures

To see more pictures from my long exposure work at Little Corona, head to my Little Corona Beach Gallery.  Here’s a thumbnail of one more from the last night:

Clouds blow over the arch rock visible offshore at Little Corona. Captured after sunset on a gorgeous day, the long exposure softens the ocean waves into a silky smooth, almost misty, layer. (Marc C. Perkins)

Getting There

Little Corona Beach (Robert E Badham Marine Life Refuge): Located at the intersection of Poppy Ave. and Ocean Blvd. in Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach), CA. From Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) turn onto Poppy Ave, and park on the street once you get to Ocean Blvd (a few blocks from PCH). Street parking may be difficult to find at peak times, but was easy to get on weekday evenings. From the street you’ll walk down a moderately steep paved ramp to the beach, just at the intersection of Ocean and Poppy. The park is open from 6am – 10pm.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *