"Tsunami Warning" for Sandpipers

After going to local beachbreak and jetty spots--and turning up unremarkable subject matter everywhere I went--I headed up to the PV Peninsula to do the PV secret-spot shuffle.  Unfortunately, I ended up chasing phantom waves.  The wind was either making waves that broke erratically at the premiere breaks, or the angle of the swell missed the protected coves.


At best, the Peninsula's fickle waves are an irksome, taunting riddle.  However, it sure is a beautiful place [click photo to enlarge]--

 These surfers dodged multiple sets that could have produced great rides, so I eventually left for greener pastures--or so I thought...

 ...upon arriving at San Pedro's Cabrillo Beach, I witnessed a Sandpiper outrunning what, from his perspective, likely looked like a tsunami...

...but despite the "massive" set that almost slammed the bird, this feral cat kept his cool.

--FIN--

show me some FIREWORKS -- 4th of July from The Hill

 

 Redondo's display of fireworks, as seen from PV, was brilliant.

 A lonely sailboat meanders down the coast as the light retreats around sundown.

 People--and photographers (left third, at the edge of the cliff) were sprinkled all along the cliff.

  And everyone decided to check out this vantage point--leading to constant flow of cars, which did not ebb for the entire duration of the display.

 A time lapse photo shows the ghost image of a cell phone used to take a fireworks picture and heads of attendees at the church by Haggerty's on the Hill--a great viewing area for the fireworks.

 A young lady, left, goes from sitting upright to flopping down out of boredom, waiting for the barge fireworks show to begin off of Torrance beach (shot from the patio at the church near Haggerty's).

 Silhouettes of attendees mark the foreground of this fantastic pyrotechnic display.

 Panoramic fisheye crop, 1

 Panoramic fisheye crop, 2

A burst of fireworks, shot as a long-exposure, poses as a psychedelic, technicolor mushroom cloud.  The beam of light in the foreground is a car zooming by.