In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong

Photography field reports by Richard Wong. Richard’s work has been published in magazines, books, advertising, and offers fine art prints of his work. Images may be licensed as rights-managed stock photos by contacting Richard directly at Richard@rwongphoto.com or (626) 422-6151. California stock photography, fine art prints, photo blog: www.rwongphoto.com

Montana de Oro Seascape

Posted on | July 20, 2011 | 9 Comments

Bluff Trail Seascape, Montana de Oro SP, California

Bluff Trail Seascape, Montana de Oro SP, California

The bluff trail in Montana de Oro State Park has some very unique scenery and I’ve long been waiting for the right conditions with great light. I thought there might be potential for a great sunset but it turned out to be overcast. A faint amount of sunlight did make it under the cloud cover to produce a little bit of color though so it was better than nothing. By the way, that is Morro Rock off in the distance but the top of the dome is covered by the marine layer.

More importantly, I want to mention the California State Parks situation. 70 of the 278 California State Parks are set to close next year due to state budget cuts. There was a proposition (prop 21) on the previous election ballot that would have added a $18 annual fee to California car registrations that would have covered the budgets for all of the California State Parks and opened them up for free parking at all state parks and state beaches. That would actually have saved me money. I currently spend much more than that in state park annual admission fees. Prop 21 didn’t pass however so we are left with 70 parks due for closure. One of the parks on the closure list is Morro Strand State Beach, which is the stretch of beach adjacent to Morro Rock. I’ve read that could mean all trash cans would be removed from closed state beaches along with restrooms. For parks that have formal entrances, the entrances would be locked. This is certainly not the type of state that I want to live in. Lets do something about it!

See more of my Morro Bay pictures.

Category: Morro Bay, Opinion
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Comments

9 Responses to “Montana de Oro Seascape”

  1. Russ Bishop
    July 20th, 2011 @ 11:54 am

    I was equally upset Richard that this very reasonable solution for keeping the parks open did not pass on the ballot. Heck, I even donated $75 to CA Parks and they gave me $90 in parking vouchers in return! Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize these are painless ways to preserve our natural heritage. I’m sure glad Montana de Oro is not on the hit list.

  2. Ben Glatt
    July 20th, 2011 @ 12:31 pm

    Are you using your images to try and stop the closure? I like the idea of photographers being political…Ansel thought this was a necessary aspect of being a landscape photographer…but unfortunately it seems people have forgotten it.

  3. Richard Wong
    July 20th, 2011 @ 12:31 pm

    Wow cool. That definitely sounds like a great deal you got with the vouchers. I spent more than that last year.

    If Montana de Oro was on the hit list, I’d be devastated.

  4. Richard Wong
    July 20th, 2011 @ 12:36 pm

    Hey Ben. I’m hoping blogging about it would be a good start and I’d be open to donating photos to the State Parks.

    You are right that that many photographers nowadays are only interested in taking pictures but don’t want to say anything about the political aspect or anything beyond aesthetics and “art”. More of us should speak up about the situation. Legends like Ansel Adams, Philip Hyde, Eliot Porter, etc… did landscape photography solely to protect the environment. They’re work also happened to be great.

  5. Ben Glatt
    July 20th, 2011 @ 12:45 pm

    Stay tuned for my blog post coming up…I think you’ll like it.. it echoes some of the same sentiments you mention.

    http://www.benjaminglatt.com/blog

  6. Richard Wong
    July 20th, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

    I’m looking forward to it.

  7. The Uniqueness of California’s State Parks : In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong
    July 22nd, 2011 @ 6:03 am

    [...] the previous post, I wrote about the impending closure of 70 California State Parks. Though Montana de Oro State Park is not on the proposed closure list, it is just one of the many [...]

  8. Mark
    July 22nd, 2011 @ 8:29 pm

    That’s quite unfortunate news Richard.

    I just returned from a trip to California’s North Coast area around Eureka. The one thing that surprised me most is that we drove right in to most of the state parks without needing to pay any fees, except for one. Very different from here in Michigan, where you either need to pay for an annual permit, or pay day use fees.

    I don’t see any of the parks we visited on the closure list, but I recognize some of them we drove past.

  9. Richard Wong
    July 22nd, 2011 @ 9:12 pm

    That’s awesome, Mark. I’m jealous! As for the state parks, there is a mix. In the more rural areas there is not an admission fee (or a self-pay honor system) but the one’s near civilization do usually cost anywhere from $8 to $20 depending on which park and what you plan on doing there.

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