After my extended stay in Alaska, I stopped in San Diego to visit a friend before heading across the border into Tijuana to jump into an intense design work-schedule with MissionTalk.

I didn’t have much time to be taking pictures in San Diego, so I just went out on short excursions on the two evenings that I was there. At first I didn’t think the city would offer much for a landscape photographer, but there were three places that turned out exceptionally well. If you’re ever in the area, make sure to stop at these three places for some pretty unique photo ops.

1 Sunset Cliffs Natural Area

Stay down at the southern part of the park if you want a little more peace and quiet. There may not be such a thing in San Diego, but there was a lot that was unique to me, being from out East. However, the northern portion of the park offers a pretty spectacular natural arch which I regret I wasn’t at when the sun set. Wherever you shoot, be there for sunset . . . and don’t forget your ND grad!

2 Centennial Park on Coronado Island

I would recommend this spot for a morning shoot, though I only made it there in the evening after dark. Any time of day works. It’s probably the best and most famous view of downtown San Diego. Make sure to use a tripod and long exposure to smooth the water out a bit. Get down on level with the water to make it even smoother than what I have here. And don’t forget to close that aperture down to get the lights to sparkle! Take off your polarizer too, as in this case you do want the glare.

3 Ocean Beach Park

As the beaches in this area are less rocky and thus heavily populated, I don’t recommend this location unless it’s a cold day. However, under the pier, there were piles of seaweed and no one seemed to enjoy hanging out anywhere close. I here Scripps pier is a better spot, but we didn’t have time time drive that far north.

Here’s someone else’s recommendations for where to shoot in San Diego. It helped me get started. Happy shooting!