Announcing my new series Wildflowers and Waves! Four photographs taken on June 12, 2020 within a 45 minute time frame. Photographs taken at Garrapata State Park in Big Sur, California. Sold in Limited Edition printings of no more than 100 per image and also Open Edition printings on Gallery Wrapped Canvas.
Wildflowers and Waves | Seascape Photography

Mesmerizing
Big Sur, California
Limited Edition of 100 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #1 in a series of four all shot within a 45 minute period on June 12, 2020. The series name is Wildflowers and Waves. These photographs were all taken at Soberanes Point in Garrapata State Park, California and from the exact same location. Tomas only zoomed in or out and turned the tripod head to change perspective.
When I lived in the Monterey area 30 years ago I loved visiting the Garrapata State Park. I hiked Soberanes Canyon often and took my children to the beaches in the area. This visit all these years later was like seeing it again for the first time and being there in June was an amazing time for wildflowers. We actually scouted this location hours early, found the spot I wanted to be and then hiked and relaxed in the car until the light got right. I wanted to capture the grandeur of this scene so I set up to do a panoramic capturing the ocean, rugged coastline, flowers and mountain. There was an interesting old local guy walking the trail that I talked to for a moment, I was very interested in how he would stop and stare at groups of flowers for minutes at a time as if he were mesmerized by the beauty. When I took this photograph he was in a perfect spot on the trail just gazing at the hillside. I don't usually include people in my images but I just had to keep him in this to show scale. This is a 1:2 ratio panoramic created using multiple vertical images and stitching them together in Lightroom.

Color Waves
Big Sur, California
Limited Edition of 100 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #2 in a series of four all shot within a 45 minute period on June 12, 2020. The series name is Wildflowers and Waves. These photographs were all taken at Soberanes Point in Garrapata State Park, California and from the exact same location. Tomas only zoomed in or out and turned the tripod head to change perspective.
In this photograph I wanted to bring the rolling waves and rugged shoreline more into the scene. Catching waves at the perfect time takes patience and watchfulness, knowing just when to press the shutter. I love the lines in this image, the line of the trail and the wave leading the viewer's eyes into the scene. The wildflowers were truly amazing with the red of the paintbrush, the yellow of the yarrow and the purple hues of the scattered daisies. The rugged coastline, clouds and mountains falling into the ocean was breathtaking. This was one of those scenes it was hard to actually work and not just stare in awe.

Soberanes Sunset
Big Sur, California
Limited Edition of 100 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #3 in a series of four all shot within a 45 minute period on June 12, 2020. The series name is Wildflowers and Waves. These photographs were all taken at Soberanes Point in Garrapata State Park, California and from the exact same location. Tomas only zoomed in or out and turned the tripod head to change perspective.
I was really only interested in the shot up the coastline but as the sunset progressed I couldn't resist pivoting the tripod head to shoot due west over the wildflowers and capture this wonderful scene, I'm glad I did. The sunset was one of the soft hazy ones with the hues of pink and orange I have always loved. Combined with the wildflowers and the ocean it really made for a nice mood. I love the peace this photograph gives, the shades of color and curve of the blue ocean.

California Dreamin'
Big Sur, California
Limited Edition of 100 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is #4 in a series of four all shot within a 45 minute period on June 12, 2020. The series name is Wildflowers and Waves. These photographs were all taken at Soberanes Point in Garrapata State Park, California and from the exact same location. Tomas only zoomed in or out and turned the tripod head to change perspective.
The sun was setting the light was dying but I had to take one more photograph. I aimed my camera back at this chosen spot and zoomed in to highlight the waves and rugged coastline. I set the shutter to 6 seconds so the waves would be a blur of motion and dream and I got the shot. I love the colors in the wildflowers, the waves in their blur of motion, the rocks and hills extending into the distance and the orange-pink glow in the sky from the sunset. This day had been such an amazing one, scouting this location by noon, waiting all day for the light, watching the waves roll in, the flowers sway in the breeze, the sound of waves crashing on the rocks and songs of birds. It truly doesn't get any better than this, now it all seems like a dream.

Rock'n Sunset
ASILOMAR STATE BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Limited Edition of 100 Museum Grade, Fine Art Prints.
This photograph is part of my 'Sunset Splash' Series all taken June 7-8, 2020 on the stretch of coastline from Pebble Beach near China Rock to Pacific Grove on the Asilomar State Beach.
Photographing the sunset over the ocean is always one of my favorite things to do. The trick can be finding interesting foregrounds and capturing the action of the waves. I loved how the waves were splashing on the rock in the lower third so I timed it just as the sun was going down and luckily captured a wonderful splash at the right moment.
Asilomar State Beach is one of the best beaches on the Monterey Peninsula. The beautiful white sands stretch for a mile along the rugged coastline and are bordered on the ends with fields of rocks. Asilomar (meaning "Asylum or refuge by the sea" and pronounced a-SIL-o-mar) is a combination of two Spanish words: "asilo" and "mar" See this blog post if you would like to read more about the Monterey area.

This was an amazing evening photographing wildflowers and waves, the setting sun and just soaking in the whole experience. One word of warning, garrapata means tick in Spanish and this state park is named appropriately. I ended up with a tick stuck in my stomach so beware!
Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur has been called the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States",[1] a sublime "national treasure that demands extraordinary procedures to protect it from development",[2] and "one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere in the world, an isolated stretch of road, mythic in reputation".[3] The stunning views, redwood forests, hiking, beaches, and other recreational opportunities have made Big Sur a popular destination for about 7 million people who live within a day's drive and visitors from across the world. It is among the top 35 tourist destinations world-wide.[4] The region receives about the same number of visitors as Yosemite National Park, but offers only limited bus service, few restrooms, and a narrow two-lane highway that for most of its length clings to the steep coastal cliffs. North-bound traffic during the peak summer season and holiday weekends is often backed up for about 20 miles (32 km) from Big Sur Village to Carmel.[5][6] Due to the large number of visitors, congestion and slow traffic between Carmel and Posts is becoming the norm.[7]