Point Reyes National Seashore

Posted on | February 5, 2010 | 21 Comments

Point Reyes National Seashore, California

There was a point in my development as a photographer that I realized how lucky we are in this country to be able to pursue our passions such as landscape photography. That moment for me came to me one weekday morning at Point Reyes National Seashore six or seven years ago when I had a rare day off from both grad school and my job. I didn’t have much time nor money back in those days so pretty much every time I went out shooting photos was a treat to me but on this one cold morning it was different.

I went to McClure’s Beach and there was no one there. Not a single soul. No human development on the shoreline. No cars. No footprints on the sand. Nothing but just me and the pounding surf. This was my 2nd visit to Point Reyes, and the first time was very crowded since I went on a weekend during peak spring wildflower season so it really caught me off-guard with how much different this experience felt. It hit me that out of the six billion people on this planet, that I was the only person in the whole world who got to spend the morning at this world-renowned national park beach. I didn’t come away with any photos worth processing but that experience has since stuck with me.

Tomorrow I bet there will probably some 23 year old kid out there doing the same thing that I did. Trying to find his way in the world while telling his story through photos. For someone eager to carve out their niche on this planet, the world can seem like a crowded place but when you look for long enough you start to realize that there is enough room for everyone to be themselves.

See more of my Bay Area pictures.

Category: Marin County, Point Reyes NS
Tags: California > national parks > scenic nature

Comments

21 Responses to “Point Reyes National Seashore”

Carol Mattingly
February 5th, 2010 @ 10:02 am

Richard, I loved this story. Thanks for sharing it. Talking about our experiences as we progress in the field of photography is so rewarding. Carol
Richard Wong
February 5th, 2010 @ 11:18 am

Thanks Carol.
Pat Ulrich
February 5th, 2010 @ 11:35 am

Hi Richard,
This post really hits home for me. My experiences at Point Reyes have made it the single place that has drawn me into photography — and its for exactly the same reasons that you mentioned. Even on the weekends I often find myself as the only person who arrives at the trailhead for sunrise, and its like I have this whole magnificent park to myself. I’ve never been a place where my heart feels so free, and so in tune with the magic of the world around us. So it won’t be tomorrow — but I’m planning to be out there on Sunday morning, doing exactly that!
Mark
February 5th, 2010 @ 3:23 pm

Very nice post Richard. I can say I have had similar thoughts. There are many places in the world without the large open spaces we have in this country. To be able to have one all to yourself, even if only a short while, is truly something to treasure.
Richard Wong
February 5th, 2010 @ 5:03 pm

Thanks Pat and Mark. I’ll have to try Pt. Reyes at sunrise sometime. Hard to believe it is in the Bay Area considering how far it is to get to Tomales Point from San Francisco.
Foggy Pacifica : In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong
February 7th, 2010 @ 6:01 am

[...] with the Point Reyes National Seashore post, I’m going to be posting some older images in the coming days. I didn’t have a [...]
Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images
February 7th, 2010 @ 1:50 pm

Richard, A really great story, and something I’d recently been thinking about in regards to my own work and current book. That’s such a great strecth of beach. Must have been great to have it to yourself.
Steve Sieren
February 7th, 2010 @ 2:49 pm

What a nice experience and having the place all to yourself is bad at all!
Richard Wong
February 7th, 2010 @ 10:24 pm

Thanks guys. I’m sure your book project will be great Gary. It already sounds like an interesting concept.
Sherri Meyer
February 9th, 2010 @ 10:55 am

I love the composition of this image Richard. Great story as well. I can certainly identify with having a place all to yourself. Those are the types of places I enjoy the most!

Sherri
Richard Wong
February 9th, 2010 @ 1:59 pm

Thanks Sherri. I would imagine that it is much easier to find solitude in your area than mine.
David Leland Hyde
February 9th, 2010 @ 6:00 pm

Very close in composition to a photograph my dad made that became known in the Sierra Club Exhibit Format Series book “Island In Time” that helped create Point Reyes National Seashore. Dad’s image shows just a bit more of the beach going into the distance, probably a function of having the 4X5 camera. Though your photograph may even be better in some ways because the colors are clearer and yours was a clearer day, less hazy in the distance, if you can believe a day in the late 1950s would be hazier than a one recently.
Richard Wong
February 9th, 2010 @ 11:38 pm

Thanks David. I really do need to find a copy of your dad’s Point Reyes book.

I took this image in spring of 2003 and remember it most for being extremely windy on this day. It can get hazy on the rare day that there is no wind in the Bay Area but I didn’t see too much of that when I lived there.
Michael Brown
February 10th, 2010 @ 10:59 am

The colors in this piece are absolutely stunning to the eyes!

Michael
Richard Wong
February 10th, 2010 @ 3:34 pm

Thanks Michael.
David Leland Hyde
February 11th, 2010 @ 11:48 pm

If you feel it is appropriate here, let me know what you think of the photographs in the book, “Island In Time: Point Reyes Peninsula” (out of print) Probably can’t hurt to have your photograph compared to his. However, many people today are not that impressed with those books, even though they were the big splash in their day.
Richard
February 12th, 2010 @ 2:25 am

Hi David. I’ll be sure to let you know regarding the book when it comes. Personally regarding my own image, I want to re-shoot it because I took this when I was an inexperienced photographer and didn’t think too much about it at the time. It wasn’t until a few years later when viewing the slides that I thought, oh, this place was pretty nice!
David Leland Hyde
February 13th, 2010 @ 5:58 pm

It is usually windy out there but the day you were there was particularly windy and made a beautiful wave pattern in your photograph. for what it’s worth, coming from me, mainly an admirer, and less a serious photographer myself, I might have included a bit more of the waves and a little less of the land. That is sort of how my dad photographed it, as you shall soon see, but his waves aren’t as nice as yours.
Richard Wong
February 14th, 2010 @ 12:50 am

Thanks David. That is what I would have done in hindsight as well. I think the composition is what held me from posting this for so long.
David Leland Hyde
March 3rd, 2010 @ 2:49 am

Well, I’m interested to hear what you thought of the book. Like I said before, some people don’t think those books look like much now, because book reproduction quality has vastly improved, and even the photography has become better than in those days. As you say, Point Reyes is hard to photograph. Dad did get some good ones, I think, but I am curious what you think too. Have been sort of wondering if maybe you were underwhelmed. Most of his other Exhibit Format Series books are better, and “Island In Time” contains a lot of straight documentary work by Dad, however, it was well-thought of in its day. Though I must say that Eliot Porter’s book received most of the attention that year. There were other years that were more Dad’s year, like when “The Last Redwoods,” “Time and the River Flowing” or “Slickrock” came out.
Richard Wong
March 3rd, 2010 @ 11:59 am

Hey David. Having seen some of your dads prints and now the Point Reyes book, I would agree that modern printing does his work better justice. If they were to update the book, I would personally choose to have all the images in color rather than half color and have b&w. What I like about the book is that it captures the sense of wildness but also talks about the human aspect of it’s history.