Often, either the first shot I take or the last shot I take end up being some of my favorite shots of any photo session. I have no idea why. This shot above was the last shot I took and it was a shot I almost didn’t take. My friend, Mike, paused first, or I would have kept my head focused on leaving the park. Thankfully, the deep green plants and blue lifeguard stand set against the yellow/orange horizon was impossible to ignore. I took just this one shot and it’s one of my favorites from our sunrise at El Capitan Beach.

The plants are probably Carpobrotus chilensis (sea fig), if my research is correct, but they are often confused with the Ice Plant. And since I’m certainly not a horticulture buff, I could easily be wrong. Apparently neither are native to California. They were brought here in the early 20th century to help with erosion, and quickly spread, pushing out the native vegetation. I like ’em, whichever one it is. 🙂

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