I went down to the beach today. The waves were great; here's a couple of examples:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

[elleng]

1. WOWOWOW!!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Thanks for all those "WOW"s, my dear elleng!

Out of about 280 exposures, I got maybe 10 that were this good. And maybe 20 more that were OK.

[AllaN01Bear]

3. that last one reminds me of the orginal hawii five 0 opener

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Thanks so much, my dear AllaNO1Bear!

I can see why!

[PTL_Mancuso]

31. Book him, Jack-o! (as in Smith) 8D

Woo! Nice photos, but a bit unsettling!

Happy New Year!

[Diamond_Dog]

4. Stunning!

That second photo .. WOW!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Thanks so much, my dear Diamond_Dog!

I was very pleased (to say the least!) to have caught that one.

The glare was horrible; most of the time, I was shooting right into it. But that was the direction that the best waves were coming from.

[HAB911]

7. Beautiful

I miss those CA waves

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. Ah, thank you so much, my dear HAB911 . . .

I'd heard that we were having high waves and that's why I went down.

We don't get them this high very often; in fact, it's rare here.

Needless to say, there were a lot of people there today!

[Biophilic]

8. Those are beautiful photos. Almost as good as being there.

I'm envious. Enjoy.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Thank you, my dear Biophilic!

I did have a good time. I also got tired, lugging around my big 100 to 400mm Olympus lens!

But that lens really delivers, so I don't mind too much.

As I mentioned to HAB911, we rarely get waves this high. I'm really glad I made the effort to see and to catch some of them.

[Biophilic]

26. Well, from my standpoint, it was well worth the effort. 😁

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

47. Good evening, California Peggy, I'm California born and raised. Born in Cedars of Lebanon, NOW Cedars Sinai

Spent the majority of my childhood in LA but have lived here in the North State for the better part of 41 years. Just wanted to complement your photos. I usually lurk and just admire but I wanted to ask you what region of California are you in?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

48. Thank you for the compliments, my dear The_REAL_Ecumenist!

I live in Southern CA, not far from LAX.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

11. A lot of my friends have been down there.

Those waves are insane, as are the people standing out at the end of the pier. I hope you didn't do that.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Those waves sure are insane, my dear Grumpy!

I want you to know that the ONLY reason I didn't get out to the end of the Pier is because my legs were getting tired and I still had to walk back to my car!

I got most of the way out, though. I wanted to get right on top of at least some of those waves . . . and I did.

Thanks so much!

[montanacowboy]

12. That second one looks like a painting

just beautiful - well done!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. Thank you so much, my dear montanacowboy! It does rather look like that, doesn't it? It was fun being there! ♥ nt

[malaise]

13. Beautiful

Happy New Year to you and yours my dear CaliforniaPeggy 😀

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Thank you so much, my dear malaise!

Happy New Year to you and yours as well!

[Bo Zarts]

14. Wowzer! Especially the curl!

So how 'bout some pics of your surfboard, Peg!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. Thank you so very much, my dear Bo!

Can't you just see me, at 80 years old, on a fucking surfboard???

Me either.

Glad you like the photos.

[William769]

15. Beautiful.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

20. Thank you so very much, my dear William769! I'm glad you enjoyed them. ♥ nt

[fierywoman]

21. YOWZA, dear Peggy !!!

Your photography never ceases to astound and delight me.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. Thanks so much, my dear fierywoman! So glad I can do that! ♥ nt

[Deuxcents]

22. Cowabunga ! Great way to greet the New Year with these great photos

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. Cowabunga is the word and thank you for using it today, my dear Deuxcents! Glad you like my work. ♥ nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

23. Street flooding, people being injured.

I thought everyone was warned to stay away from the beach.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. Those warnings were out for other neighborhoods, my dear PoindexterOglethorpe . . .

We have a fairly deep beach, and access was restricted onto it. Most people, like me, saw it from the Pier which is safely elevated over the waves.

There were lots of people up on the Pier! Many taking photos too.

And I saw a lifeguard riding a jetski while he looked for anyone in trouble in the water, but nobody was surfing here.

Hope you enjoyed the photos. My life was secure as I took them.

[3catwoman3]

28. I can almost hear them crashing..

...on the shore. Beautiful!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

29. Thanks so much, my dear 3catwoman3!

There was a fair amount of that, but not bad. The surface lacy waves hiss as they hit the beach. I find it fascinating!

Glad you enjoyed!

[CANADIANBEAVER69]

30. very nice

The spray is like ocean snow in those photos. Love them.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

36. Thank you, my dear CANADIANBEAVER69!

Thanks for your observant remarks! It does look like that.

[evolves]

32. Great shots, Peggy!

I especially like the second one!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

37. Thank you, my dear evolves!

It sure has that "wow" factor! I felt very lucky to have captured it.

[evolves]

51. Luck, yes...

But your skill is evident, too!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

52. Thank you so much.

Some days I don't feel skilled at all! But that's just part of being human.

[democrank]

33. Wonderful!

The colors are stunning. Thank you for posting these photos.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

38. Thanks so much, my dear democrank!

My skill thanks you, as does my PaintShopPro program and my ability to see what's good!

Sharing's in my blood.

[ShazzieB]

34. I love the contrast in textures in the first one, between the smooth, shining water and that heaped up ridge of foam.

But the second one is so dramatic and has great detail. Those waves look like they're made of spun sugar!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

39. Thanks so much for your wonderful critique, my dear ShazzieB! I truly appreciate it.

The things that you pointed out are the reasons I chose these 2 to post.

[Chicagogrl1]

35. Gorgeous!

Per Jeff Spicoli:
All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

40. Thank you so much, my dear Chicagogrl1!

Very cool quote too.

[diva77]

41. Outstanding...but you left out the one of you doing a hang-10!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

44. What makes you think I left it out, my dear diva77???

I didn't do that . . . since no such photo exists!



Glad you enjoyed!

[BigmanPigman]

42. It is wild in San Diego. A "whale watching boat"

Was like "the perfect storm". I saw the local news and they all made it out OK. One guy said he'd go again, not me...and I love roller coasters and scary rides.

?si=VgsqUyrqJFcT2_DV

[CaliforniaPeggy]

45. That's a fairly scary video, my dear BigmanPigman!

I love to whale watch, but not when the sea looks like that!

Glad you like my photos!

[Ziggysmom]

54. That's just plain nuts. If it did capsize, then they would expect emergency responders to risk THEIR

lives to save them.

Nope, just nope! Some stupidity is just criminal IMHO. Thanks for posting the video.

[H2O Man]

43. Recommended.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

46. Thank you so much, my dear H20 Man. I love your vote of confidence! ♥ nt

[mnhtnbb]

49. That is not the 'pacific' ocean I remember

ever seeing when I lived in L.A.!
Normal storm sized waves in the Atlantic, yes, but not the Pacific. It's always a thrill to capture something different, isn't it?
Thanks for sharing your beach trip with us.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

50. You got that right, my dear mnhtnbb!

Waves of this size and ferocity are truly rare here. I can't remember ever seeing waves of this size.

You bet I was thrilled!

Thank you for your lovely remarks! Sharing is in my DNA.

[justaprogressive]

53. Left Coasters Have

an unfair advantage in wave height!

Typical wave on Right hand shore:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

56. On any average day, our waves look a lot like yours, my dear justaprogressive!

The storms have changed all that.

[thatcrowwoman]

55. Many thanks, CaliforniaPeggy.

The textures and palette of the first shot are crazy cool.

The movement is palpable in the second shot, and those glassy bottle-greens with a dusting then an avalanche of foam are hypnotic, stop-motion, capture the majesty and power of Mother Ocean.

Story ends, singing starts at the 2 minute mark.
🕊🩵💫🎶thatcrowwoman

[CaliforniaPeggy]

58. Thank you for your wonderful comments, my dear thatcrowwoman . . .

And for the song. It's beautiful.

[Trueblue Texan]

57. WOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWWWWWW!!!!

These are breathtaking! I'm going to try to paint them when I get back home. I love painting water better than almost anything...boats are great too! Thanks so much for posting these!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

59. Omigod, my dear Trueblue Texan! Thank you.

Best of luck to you!

I had to post them--what good is beauty if nobody can see it?

[cate94]

60. Wow

Great pictures!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

61. Thanks so much, my dear cate94! I appreciate your response a lot! ♥ nt

[Joinfortmill]

62. 2nd one looks like sonething familiar.

Just saying.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

63. I don't doubt it, my dear Joinfortmill!

There are most likely many photos of curling waves that look a lot like mine.

Not sure what you're getting at. How about a clue?