Patrick Smith Landscape and Seascape Photography



Portal to Mendocino          Buy!            

Location:  Mendocino State Beach, California

Story:

This 100+ foot long sea cave and arch is located near the center of town in Mendocino.  This light is usually too harsh to get a
good image so I waited for a soft, red sunset to give some warm indirect light.  Then I made a long exposure to smooth out the
water and focus attention on the arch and impressive rocks surrounding it.
Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Humboldt Lost Coast Seascapes

Big surf and lots of interesting cliffs and rock formations make this place a paradise for landscape and seascape photography.  It
can be a rather remote place so I have a lot of work to do.  I have included the remote Lost Coast region of Humboldt County
here because this region has a lot in common with the Mendocino coast.  It would take many lifetimes to fully explore this stretch
of coastline.  This also includes the Napa and Sonoma wine growing regions.

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Mouth of Mattole #1   Buy!                    

Location:  Lost Coast, Humboldt County, California

Story:

Image #1 of 2.  The Mattole river flows from high mountains to the deserted Lost coast of Humboldt county.  There are no towns
on this stretch of coastline.  It is desolate and beautiful.  In this set of two images, it was a foggy day so I decided to make an
abstract representation of the river mouth rather than my normal style of highly detailed seascapes.  
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Bowling Balls #1   Buy!              

Location:  Mendocino County, California

Story:

These sandstone concretions at Bowling Ball Beach, a few miles south of Point Arena, California are much like the Moeraki boulders
in New Zealand. They are incredible and I'll be back here many times to capture these under different lighting and tidal conditions.
Farscape          Buy!            

Location:  Salt Point State Park, Sonoma County, California

Story:

Salt Point State Park, has many unusual rock formations like this one. Mars hasn't had water for 3 billion years, but this is what I
imagine an ancient Martian ocean might look like. But this is real and here now at Salt Point State Park, 2 hours north of San
Francisco. This place is covered with these formations! This rock face is only 1-2 feet thick. I think the big one looks like a crab
claw, what do you think?

It was clear and windy with high tide at sunset, so not the best day to go. But I wanted some time to scope out future shots.
Since it was so clear, I only had one chance for a decent shot just a few minutes before sunset. So after I scoped out the place
and found about 20 good shots for the future, I waited for this shot for 3 hours, and hoped for a few thin clouds to cover the sky
and fortunately they came in. This was the only shot I got that day. (Literally, I only took one frame!) I had my plastic bag to
cover the camera from the constant rain of salt spray, and as I removed it to take this shot, it blew out of my hand and flew away
into the air like a helium balloon. I quickly took the shot and the ND grad was covered in salt after that. Wiping it is not enough,
only a bag will do.  The is a very appropriately named park!
Salt Point State Park, Sonoma County, California
Mouth of Mattole #2   Buy!            

Location:  Lost Coast, Humboldt County, California

Story:

Image #2 of 2.  The Mattole river flows from high mountains to the deserted Lost coast of Humboldt county.  There are no towns
on this stretch of coastline.  It is desolate and beautiful.  In this set of two images, it was a foggy day so I decided to make an
abstract representation of the river mouth rather than my normal style of highly detailed seascapes.  
Orbs of Mystery          Buy!            

Location:  A few miles south of Point Arena, Mendocino County, California

Story:

Bowling Ball Beach is usually shown at sunset with a medium tide, but this place at sunrise with a low tide can present these
concretions as being mysterious orbs!  That little dot is the full moon shown at this very wide angle perspective.