Green Heron

I’ve had luck in the past with birds at the Fullerton Arboretum so I took the gargantuan 500mm lens out for another test run. A quick run through of the ponds revealed nothing more than common ducks and American coots until I was about to leave when two green herons flew from out of nowhere [...]

Tower Records

For anyone that grew up a fan of music and actually bought their records / tapes / cds then it’s hard to not feel a bit of sadness to see Tower Records go out of business three years ago. My dad was telling me the other day that he used to go to the Sunset [...]

Life or Death at The Wedge

Knowing that a bodyboarder died the day before, I’m sure that had to weigh on the mind of some of these people. It was certainly on the minds of the lifeguards. When I first got there early on Saturday morning there were no lifeguards on duty. At one point there were two surfers caught inbetween [...]

The Wedge Bodyboarding

The Wedge is a crazy place. I have tried to go there on multiple occasions the past several years but have been unsuccessful in finding parking on Balboa Peninsula. So I got to Newport Beach pretty quick on Friday but it took me twice as long to find parking once I got to Balboa Peninsula, [...]

The Wedge Newport Beach Video

The Wedge Newport Beach Video
Video from yesterday morning at The Wedge before dawn. A body surfer died here on Friday afternoon.
It is so convenient to be able to shoot HD video and shoot stills at the same time with a killer camera such as the 5D Mark II.

Will You Marry Me, Crystal?

On Friday night, I walked out onto the scenic vista at Pelican Point, Crystal Cove State Park before heading back to the trail when I passed this couple pushing their baby in the stroller to the scenic vista. I didn’t think anything of it until I rounded the corner below when the other people going [...]

San Clemente Surfer

I am really impressed with how sharp the Canon 70-200mm f4 lens is. Almost as impressive is the autofocus capabilities. I have only used the auto focus on the Canon system a few times before because I’ve never had a lens that was good at it but with this lens I’ve been using the AF [...]

San Clemente Pier

San Clemente was one of the few beaches in Orange County that I hadn’t been to. The fog rolled in late afternoon so I had to wait until dusk for the cool blue colors to bring out my wide angle lens to photograph San Clemente Pier. It gave me another chance to try out the [...]

Canon 70-200mm f4 Lens

I just took my new Canon 70-200mm f4 lens out for a local test run at the Arboretum at Cal State Fullerton. I bought it for landscapes and downtown skyline photography but I am really liking the texture of the backgrounds for the flower photos. That leads me to think that the lens would probably [...]

Wave Break

On Shore Wave Break, Laguna Beach, California
There were 7 – 9 foot swells and at this place the waves break on shore so it was exciting to say the least. There was a big minus tide at 2:30 but by the time I took this photo it was nearing hide tide which was at [...]

Victoria Beach Tower

Castle Turret at Victoria Beach, Laguna Beach, California
Looking at a web cam at home I had a hunch that there would be amazing conditions last night for coastal photography so I drove through a heavy downpour on the 57 freeway in order to photograph this scene at Laguna Beach. Photographing the Victoria Beach tower [...]

Dana Point Harbor

Aloe Vera Flowers and Dana Point Harbor Scenic Vista, Orange County, California
I met up with Alaskan photographer Ron Niebrugge at Dana Point Harbor last month. Ron and his wife Janine spend half the year traveling in the lower 48 in their RV so he always has some interesting things to write about on his [...]

The Aftermath

Brea Canyon Fire, Diamond Bar, Southern California
The destruction left in the wake of the firestorm last week is very clear as you drive along the 57 freeway through the Brea Pass and on the hills of the Carbon Canyon area of Brea, which is still closed to residents only. The stench of the fire [...]

Southern California Fires

Brea Canyon Fire, Southern California
The past two days have proven to be very challenging for many in Southern California due to several large wildfires near urban areas. Today, the 57, 91, 71, 405, 5, and 210 freeways were all shut down at certain times due to smoke and fire. On the 57 freeway (foreground), [...]

Huntington Beach Kites

Photo: Kiteboarding Kites, Huntington Beach, California
It’s hard to believe that a few days ago it was overcast and 60-something degrees. Today it is around 100 degrees. I would imagine that Huntington Beach doesn’t look this way either today.
I don’t do much high-key photography but it looked interesting on my computer in this case. Does [...]

Huntington Beach Kiteboarding

Picture of Kiteboarder Flying Over Waves, Huntington State Beach, California
There weren’t that many people at the beach because it was cold. The cool part though was there were quite a few kiteboarders out there riding the waves. I had never seen this sport before so I wasn’t sure how to anticipate the moves. I [...]

The Electric Riverboat Angela Louise

The Electric Riverboat Angela Louise at Balboa Fun Zone, Newport Beach, California
Writer’s block doesn’t just happen to writers. I have been to Balboa Island and the Peninsula a number of times in the past year or so with the intention of adding some images to my collection. Each time I couldn’t get myself to [...]

Crystal Cove State Park

California Spiny Lobster (Panulirus interruptus) Shell at Minus 1.6 Feet Tide, Crystal Cove State Park, California
For several years now, I have gone to tide pools during the winter months whenever the tides range from -1.0 to -2.5 feet. My goal has been to photograph the ever-elusive octopus. Octopus are generally found in rocky reefs hiding [...]

When you’re at the mercy of your camera gear.

If you recall my “Surf City USA” post, I mentioned that my camera went for a swim in the Pacific Ocean two weeks ago. Well it had started to fully function again last week so on Saturday I took it for a test run at none other than Huntington Beach Pier! Two weeks ago I [...]

Surf City USA: Not Sponsored by Canon

Yesterday I went to Huntington Beach to see the Red Bull Illume Image Quest Action Photography Exhibit that is located next the Pier. I went to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Reserve first because with gas prices the way they are nowadays I don’t have the resources to waste by waiting to shoot one location only [...]

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In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong