After photographing the classic views of the surf and rocks of Shore Acres, I took a short hike through the trees to the southern side of an unnamed cove for a different vantage of the area. The cove itself was humble, not stunning, yet not barren. And the mushrooms along the forest floor proved interesting subjects.

I continued my hike up through the trees to the southern side of the cove and stepped out onto the jagged cliffs. The tide was high however the Pacific lived up to its name on this day - the waves were calm and barely cresting. The leading lines of the rock strata were an immediate draw, although it would be fabrication to say the location impressed me. I took a few photos here and there, some of the rock, some of the meandering churn of the ocean at the base of the cliffs.

I returned to the rocks and walked north along their lines. Looking back across the cove, I could see the Shore Acres observation building, where my hike began. The jagged angles of the cliffs made for a great foreground and after a few minute of composition tweaking, I found a good balance of foreground and background, keeping the two separates by a silver of the cove.

I turned my attention to the intricacies of the rocks themselves. They are very interesting when I paid attention. Twisting shapes, pockmarked, a strange combination of smooth yet jagged. One of the forms had a natural arch, the ocean having punched a hole through it eons ago. I took some photos peering through the arch, though I found those less interesting than a larger segment. Getting up close and shooting with a very wide angle exaggerated the curves of this warped landscape.

It took a little while for Shore Acres State Park to grow on me. I think part of that was letting go of my pre-visualized scenes of powerful waves crashing against the cliffs - that was not going to happen during my visit. Instead, I allowed myself to be open to what Shore Acres was offering that day. And some of it was very good. There are always photo opportunities.