Sometimes, you just have to be in the right place at the right time. Ocean Beach in San Francisco is one of the places that is almost always “right”. It’s a wide, sandy beach, facing west. Sometimes, it gets foggy, especially in those late August days. Sometimes, during low tide, the film of water after each wave break creates beautiful mirror-like reflections. It’s not a place for swimming – the water is always too cold and the rip tides are deadly, but there are always joggers, surfers and dog walkers around.
And then, there are sunsets. Ranging from simply meek to outright glorious, they are a signature feature of Ocean Beach and pretty much any other Northern California beach. They are particularly stunning in winter months, when it might rain during the day and clear up towards the evening.
That is exactly what happened that day in December, when I brought one of my new lenses (Sony Zeiss 16-35/4) for a test to Ocean Beach. The sky was gorgeous on its own; when I saw a jogger running across the tide pool with a perfect reflection, I knew I had a great shot. Anyone would.
So that’s about it, really – the right time and the right place. Which is not that hard when the place is San Francisco.