This was the final day of my trip to California’s Central Coast. Only the morning was spent at the ocean—my wife and I took the kids tide pooling, which was a lot of fun. Afterwards we hit the road back home, waving goodbye the Pacific coast.
I love the ocean, and find myself often drawn to it. The central coast of California is probably my favorite stretch of shoreline—such a magical place! I enjoyed time with my family, and the lasting memories we made together. The two days spent with Ken Rockwell and Dave Wyman were great—I captured a bunch of photographs and learned some things. Hopefully I can join in on one of their other tours in the future. This was a good week, and it was sad that it seemed to end so soon. I guess that means I’ll have to return, perhaps for a bit longer next time.
Rocky Water – Pismo Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film
The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, Yellow Kayaks, White Trucks, fits in-between Seaside Home and Blue & Yellow. The second photo, Rocky Water, fits in-between Yellow Kayaks in the Big Blue and Jon & Crab Claw. I hope that you enjoy these pictures, and have appreciated the photographs throughout this series!
Two Seagulls – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400
Wave on Rocky Coastline – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400
Beach Joy – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400
Crab Grass – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400
Seaweed Wood – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams
Yellow Kayaks in the Big Blue – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams
Jon & Crab Claw – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams
Seaside Home – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold
Blue & Yellow – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400
One In, One Out – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400
Sandbag – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400
White Bike – Santa Barbara, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Xpro ’62
Montecito Bus – Santa Barbara, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film
Searching for Something – Santa Barbara, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film
Sent by Large Marge – Cabazon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400
That’s it! You’ve reached the end of the Central Coast of California tour. I had so much fun, and I hope you did, too!
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No Lifeguard on Duty – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64
Day 1 — June 5, 2023 — Travel Day
I recently returned from photographing California’s amazing central coast with Ken Rockwell and Dave Wyman. It was such an incredible adventure! I’m getting a little ahead of myself, though, so let me give you a little backstory first.
After more than a decade of shooting film, I purchased my first digital camera in 2009. I was one of those “holdouts” who stubbornly refused to go digital, and who would proudly proclaim why analog was preferable. Eventually I gave in; however, the transition wasn’t easy. In many ways it was like learning photography all over again. So in 2010 I began searching the internet for help and advice, and unsurprisingly I stumbled upon Ken Rockwell, who’s website has been one of the most popular photography pages for decades.
Ken is well-known and controversial. People seem to either love or loathe him. I found his website to be helpful; while I didn’t agree with everything he said, I did read a lot of useful information, and Ken’s advice was occasionally critical. In fact, it was an off-hand remark by Ken that convinced me to start blogging in the first place.
Nearly three years ago I published a Film Simulation Recipe called The Rockwell, which was inspired by Ken. I stated that it’s “a Recipe that Ken might use on his X100V if he ever read this article.” Well, to my surprise, a year later Ken did use The Rockwell Recipe and talked a little about it in his Fujifilm X-S10 review! It turned out that Leigh and Raymond Photography (formally known as The SnapChick) tipped Ken off to the Recipe, and then Ken actually emailed me, and we had a brief back-and-forth conversation.
Ken has been conducting photo tours—mostly in California—with Dave Wyman for years. Dave is a super-talented photographer who has published four books: Backroads of Northern California, Backroads of Southern California, Yosemite in Photographs, and Fearless Photographer: Nature. He’s been leading tours—not just photography tours, but various nature tours—since the mid-1970’s. Even though he’s 75, he has more energy than I do. Anyway, I’ve wanted to join in on one of these photo tours for years and years, but the opportunity never came until this year. The timing of Central Coast of California En Plein Air was perfect, so I signed up!
Rusty Rail – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64
The tour began on the June 7th in the late-afternoon, but I arrived two days early on June 5th. My wife, Amanda, and our four kids came along, too, although they did not take part in the tour (maybe next time). It was a long drive to the Pacific Coast from my home near Phoenix, Arizona; a stop in Bakersfield allowed us to stretch our legs. Once we settled into our accommodations at Pismo Beach, we took a stroll to the ocean. It was overcast, and as daylight began to fade into blue-hour, the weather turned into rain and thunder.
The complete list of photography gear that I brought on this trip can be found in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article, where I go into much more detail. Specific to Day 1, I used a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 lens, a Ricoh GR III, and the RitchieCam App on my iPhone 11. If I had known it was going to rain, I wouldn’t have taken the X-E4 and GR III out, but thankfully I was able to keep them mostly dry.
The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, No Lifeguard on Duty, fits in-between By-the-Wind Sailor and Josh on a Stump. The second image, Rusty Rail, fits in-between Yellow Ice Flower and Clean Up Your Dog. Otherwise, the order is correct. Although these are mostly snapshots, I hope that you still enjoy them—my photography got a little more serious as the week progressed.
I packed my bags and disappeared for a week. It might have seemed as though I dropped off the face of the planet, but I assure you I was on Earth the entire time. I returned home late last night. I’m sure it will take some time to catch up on everything, such as comments, emails, etc., but I promise that I will. Thanks for being patient!
Where did I go? I took a roadtrip to the central California coast, which is one of my absolute favorite places. I had a great time and captured tons of pictures—expect a lot of articles about the journey in the coming weeks! I had planned to do a little work while out of town, but each day was so busy that it just didn’t happen.
The pictures in this article are a little teaser of what I did and what you can expect to see more of soon. I have some great content ideas that I plan to publish in the coming days and weeks. You won’t want to miss any of it, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy these photographs that I captured last week while at the California coast!
Playing with Waves – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400 Recipe
Coastal Blooms – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Pacific Blues”
Sometimes—like “Arizona Analog“—Film Simulation Recipes come together quickly, and sometimes—like this recipe—they don’t. This particular recipe has been in the works for over a year! I’ve made several attempts, and I finally feel satisfied that it is right—or at least as “right” as I’m going to get it. But what is it?
I’ve had a few requests to mimic the aesthetic of Lucy Laucht‘s Spirit of Summer series, particularly the Positano Bluesphotographs. Lucy is most known for shooting with Leica cameras—both film and digital—but she also uses others, and I wasn’t sure what she employed for this project. Recently I discovered that Positano Blues was shot on film, but (as far as I’ve found) she doesn’t discuss which film. I did find a reference (not related to this specific project) that mentioned she has used Kodak Gold and Kodak Portra, and that she digitally edits the film scans to some degree. She mentions using VSCO with her digital images, and I wonder if she also utilizes it with her film, too. When I first saw the pictures in this series, I thought it had a Classic Negative vibe—a film simulation that emulates Fujicolor Superia film. Lucy’s pictures are warmer than Superia typically is, but so much depends on how a film is shot, developed, scanned, etc., on how exactly it looks, and she certainly could have used warming filter. No matter the film and process used by Lucy, there’s a certain “look” to the Positano Blues photographs that is recognizable and beautiful—no wonder why people want to emulate it!
Coast Blue – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Pacific Blues”
While Lucy Laucht’s pictures have a recognizable aesthetic, there are subtle differences between the images. Once you study them closely, you realize that some are warmer and some are cooler. Colors are rendered slightly different in some pictures. In past attempts, I felt like I’d get it “right” for one picture but “wrong” for others; however, with this final attempt, I feel like it’s possible to get close to the “look” of most of the Positano Blues photos. I’m very satisfied with how this one turned out, and I know that many of you will appreciate it, too. Obviously it is intended for a summer day at the beach, but it will do well in many different daylight situations. This “Pacific Blues” Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. I assume that it will also work on the X-H2s and newer GFX cameras, but I haven’t tried it to know for sure.
Classic Negative Dynamic Range: DR400 Highlight: -2 Shadow: +3 Color: +4 Noise Reduction: -4 Sharpness: -2 Clarity: -3 Grain Effect: Strong, Large Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong White Balance: 5800K, +1 Red & -3 Blue ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Pacific Blues” Film Simulation Recipe on a Fujifilm X-E4:
Pier Feet – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Water Taxi – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Harford Pier – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Bird & Boats – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Bird ‘Bout To Get Wet – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Ocean Post – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Pacific Plants – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Rocks in the Water – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Central California Coast – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Grass in the Sand – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Beach Frisbee – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
Sax at the Beach – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4
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There’s a photographic wonderland in the Pacific Northwest that everyone should visit if they have the opportunity: Fort Stevens State Park, which sits at the furthest northwest corner of Oregon where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. It’s about a 25 minute drive west of Astoria. There are many great picture opportunities at this historic location. If it’s your first visit, you might not know what you’ll find or where to begin—this article is intended to be a guide, so be sure to bookmark this if you think you might go.
Let’s take a look at what you’ll find at this incredible apex of Oregon!
Peter Iredale Shipwreck
Peter Iredale Remains – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – Vibrant Color filter
Probably the most famous and most photographed landmark is the Peter Iredale shipwreck. This ship was a four-mast barque sailing vessel made of steel that, in 1906, was enroute to Portland from Santa Cruz, Mexico, with a load of rocks. High winds pushed the ship off course, and it ran aground at high tide near the Fort Stevens military base. Nobody was hurt, and for whatever reason the ship was left abandoned. What’s left of the ship can still be seen to this day, and is now an iconic picture location.
There are basically two times to photograph the Peter Iredale shipwreck: higher-tides and lower-tides. At higher-tides, the boat is partially covered in water and the waves crash into the metal remains. It’s less accessible and more photographically limited at high-tide than low-tide, and you’ll definitely want a telephoto lens, but it’s still worthwhile to capture some images. You can use the grassy sand-bluffs to frame the ship. At low-tide, you can walk right up to the ship—heck, you can drive right up to the ship! It’s most ideal if you can catch the shipwreck at low-tide and at sunset (this tide chart might be helpful), and a wide-angle lens will be your friend. Most likely you won’t be the only one at the boat, and it takes some patience to not get other people in your images (or yourself in their pictures).
Finding the shipwreck is super easy. Enter the park on the Peter Iredale Road and follow the well-marked signs (Google Maps). The parking lot is not far at all from the shipwreck, so it’s easily accessible. At low-tide you can drive right onto the beach (I suggest 4-wheel-drive), which makes it even more accessible.
High Tide
Beached Ship – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – “Fujicolor Super HG”
Wet Shipwreck – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – “Fujicolor Super HG”
Shipwreck Shore – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – “Ferrania Solaris FG 400“
Shipwreck Remnants – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – B&W Fade filter
Peter Iredale’s Bones – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Gold v2“
Rusty Ship Hull – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – Color Negative Low filter
Golden Shipwreck – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “The Rockwell“
Fort Stevens Military Base
Underground Building – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – Vibrant Color filter
Fort Stevens State Park has an intriguing past—if you are a military history buff, this is a must-see place! Fort Stevens was an active military instillation from 1863 to 1947. On June 21, 1942, a Japanese submarine fired 17 shells at the base. While several of the shells hit Fort Stevens, aside from several severed power lines and some damage to a baseball diamond, they didn’t do any major destruction and nobody was hurt. This was the only attack on the 48-contiguous states during World War II.
There are a lot of old military buildings in various conditions within the state park—about 25 structures, some of which are massive—and many of these are open to the public. It could be an all-day or even multi-day event to explore them all, or, if you’re not all that interested, can be briefly experienced within less than an hour. There are three sites: Fort Stevens Historic Area (Google Maps), Observation Pillbox (Google Maps), and Battery Russell (Google Maps). The Fort Stevens Historic Area is where most of the buildings are located plus the visitor’s center. The Observation Pillbox is accessible via hiking trails. Battery Russell is located not far from the Peter Iredale shipwreck, and can be easily explored right before or just after seeing the old boat.
For photography, wide-angle lenses are probably your best bet, and a large aperture option is a good idea. Consider bringing a tripod for shooting in the dark. Those interested in military history or abandoned buildings will find Fort Stevens State Park to be a treasure-trove of photographic opportunities!
Watch Your Children – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – MetroColor filter
Abandoned Fort – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – B&W Fade filter
Big Hole – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam – B&W Fade filter
Empty Walkway – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – B&W Fade filter
Spiral Stairs – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “Ilford HP5 Plus 400“
Old Fireplace – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “Ilford HP5 Plus 400”
Stairs in the Forest – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “Ilford HP5 Plus 400”
Pacific Ocean
The Big Ocean – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – “Fujicolor Super HG”
There’s about four miles of sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean within Fort Stevens State Park. There’s also additional beach access on the Columbia River side of the park, which is interesting, too—especially if you want to see large ships coming and going—but the vast ocean with its lengthy sandy-beach is the real star.
At the south end is Strawberry Knoll (Google Maps), which is a good place for 4×4 vehicles to access the beach, but for everyone else will require a short hike to the ocean, and there’s limited parking. The easiest beach access is probably at the Peter Iredale shipwreck (Google Maps), which has more parking, but is also the most visited site. As you drive north on Jetty Road, Lot A (Google Maps) has easy beach access and plenty of parking, Lot B (Google Maps) has plenty of parking but it is a short hike to beach, Lot C (Google Maps) has an observation tower, a lot of rocks, a longer hike to the beach, and tons of parking, and Lot D (Google Maps) has plenty of easy beach access and parking, but technically this is the Columbia River side, and the water will be a lot more calm. Any of these locations can be good for photography.
I recommend having both telephoto and wide-angle lenses at your disposal. High-tide and low-tide can be interesting, and sunrise, midday, and sunset all offer interesting light. There’s no right or wrong time to go, and visiting at different times and during different conditions will give you vastly different photographic opportunities. I think one could spend days, weeks, or even months photographing the beaches at Fort Stevens and not run out of inspiration.
Beach Alone – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – “Kodak Tri-X 400”
Pacific Shore Monochrome – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Tri-X 400”
South Jetty – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “Ilford HP5 Plus 400”
Other Sites
Morning Drive – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – MetroColor filter
There are miles of hiking trails, thick forests, camping, ponds, lakes, and streams within Fort Stevens State Park. There’s abundant wildlife, including deer, elk, sea lions, bald eagles, heron, puffins, and occasionally gray whales off the coast. No matter where you are in the park, there are picture opportunities literally everywhere! The landscape is just incredible, and surprisingly varied. It might be easy to overlook all of this in-between the beach, shipwreck, and abandoned base, but don’t! Keep your eyes open, your adventurous spirit eager, and your camera ready, and you’re sure to capture some amazing yet unexpected pictures.
If you have the time and energy, the Fort Stevens/Jetty Loop/Ridge Loop Trail is great—mostly paved and fairly easy, but at nine-miles is a bit long (you don’t have to cover the whole thing). Coffenbury Lake (Google Maps) is worthwhile, and somewhat accessible from the Battery Russell parking lot.
If you are a wildlife photographer, you’ll definitely want to keep your long-telephoto lens handy. If you are a landscape photographer, wide-angle lenses will often be your best bet. Having a couple cameras, one with a telephoto lens and one with a wide-angle, or perhaps a good zoom lens, is a solid strategy.
Forest Pond – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – “Ferrania Solaris FG 400”
Elk Alone – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – “Fujicolor Super HG”
Clatsop Spit Tower – Fort Stevens SP, OR – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam app – B&W Fade filter
Conclusion
Driftwood & Shipwreck – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodachrome 64”
Fort Stevens State Park is one of the most spectacular locations in northwest Oregon! It is a worthwhile photographic excursion that can be experienced in a day, but if you have more time to spend in the park you will surely be rewarded for it. Some parts of the park (Coffenbury Lake and Fort Stevens Historic Area) require a daily self-pay $5 parking fee per vehicle, and camping isn’t free, but otherwise the other parts of the park don’t have any fee to access.
I used three cameras to capture these pictures: Fujifilm X-E4, Fujifilm X100V, and iPhone 11. On the Fujifilm cameras I used various Film Simulation Recipes, and on my iPhone I used the RitchieCam app. All of the pictures in this article are unedited (aside from minor straightening and cropping, they’re straight-out-of-camera images), which means that I didn’t spend hours manipulating them in software. This is a great way to save time and make photography even more enjoyable. Capturing photographs that don’t require any post-processing is a wonderful way to streamline your workflow and simplify your photographic life. When traveling, where you’re making tons of exposures and opportunities to post-process those pictures are limited, things that save you time can make a huge difference. If you own a Fujifilm camera, I invite you to try Film Simulation Recipes (check out the App!) on your next photography outing. If you own an iPhone, download the RitchieCam camera app for free today!
