Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach stretches for miles along San Francisco's western edge, where the Pacific crashes in with powerful, dramatic surf that gives you plenty of motion to work with. The wide open shoreline means you can position yourself low to let the waves roll toward your lens, or pull back wide to show the scale of the beach against the dunes and sky. The Cliff House area to the north offers elevated angles looking down the length of the beach, while the flat sand closer to Sloat Boulevard gives you room to work with leading lines from the surf. Sunset is the prime time to shoot here, with the sun dropping directly over the ocean; on foggy afternoons the light turns soft and moody, which suits the rugged feel of the place. A wide angle lens handles the expansive scene well. Parking is available along the Great Highway. (San Francisco, California, United States)
