This autumn I flew to California to visit my brother, who is being treated for cancer. It was great seeing him and I deeply admire his courage and determination on the long road to healing. On one day of my visit I traveled with two of my photographer friends to the coast of Sonoma County, some 60-70 miles north of San Francisco.

It was a magnificent, cloudless day (although a few clouds would have been nice for photographic purposes) as the relentless surf crashed against the rocks that define this part of the Pacific Ocean coast. In addition to standard shots of waves crashing against the rocks, I used a 10-stop filter to smooth out the surf to a more placid feeling. We ended the day capturing the sunset at Bodega Head. Just after the sun went down, we turned around toward Bodega Bay and photographed the full moon as it rose over the hills.

It was indeed a memorable day and a few of my shots are in the gallery below.

The Sonoma Coast