Año Nuevo State Park (Cellphone Photos) - San Mateo County, CA

On the 26th September 2025, my mom and I went to Año Nuevo State Park in San Mateo County, CA for a day trip. We walked along Año Nuevo Point Trail, soaking in the scenery. Afterwards, we dropped by Luigi's Pizza and Pasta in Campbell, CA for dinner. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

Message from the Photographer: I have been having more energy recently after a cold a few weeks ago. I think it might be due to one of the pills I was on. I have no clue if this increase in my energy is temporary or permanent. The pill I was taking, Mucinex DM specifically the dextromethorphan, has helped some people's chronic fatigue syndrome.

The main part of Año Nuevo State Park only has one trail, Año Nuevo Point Trail. The scenery is amazing, and there were so many birds to see walking down the trail.

A scenery photo of Año Nuevo Point Trail (center), trees, mountains, pelican (right), and Marine Education Center & Horse Barn Theater (slightly right from center).

A scenery photo of mountains, trees, Año Nuevo Point Trail (left), and Marine Education Center & Horse Barn Theater (in the distance on the right). The photo was shot at Staging Area.

A scenery photo of Pacific Ocean (center & right), rocks, mountains, trees, birds (on the rock islands), and Marine Education Center & Horse Barn Theater (in the distance on the left).

A scenery photo of Año Nuevo Island, Abandoned Lighthouse Station, Pacific Ocean, seals (in the distance), birds (in the distance). The photo was shot at Bight Beach.

A scenery photo of hills, sand dunes, trees, Pacific Ocean (center & left), birds (in the distance), and seals (in the distance). The photo was shot at Bight Beach.

A scenery photo of beach, hills, rocks, trees, seals (in the distance), and Pacific Ocean (left). The photo was shot at North Point.

A scenery photo of Año Nuevo Island, Abandoned Lighthouse Station, rocks, Pacific Ocean, seals (in the distance), birds (in the distance). The photo was shot at North Point.

Afterwards, my mom and I dropped by Luigi's Pizza and Pasta in Campbell, CA. The pizza was great. The last time I was here was in 2015, celebrating a friend's birthday. The restaurant is at 2495 Winchester Blvd, Campbell, CA 95008.

A photo inside Luigi's Pizza and Pasta in Campbell, CA.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve - Moss Beach, CA

On 23 June 2023, my mom and I took a trip to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA and Mavericks Beach in El Granada, CA. I took photos with my cellphone and mirrorless camera. The photos are split into 2 blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To see all of my photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Olympus Photos

These photos were shot on my Olympus mirrorless camera. The photos were shot at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA.

A scenery photo of houses, clouds, Moss Beach, and the Pacific Ocean.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 31' 28" N 122° 31' 03" W

A photo of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina), beach, and the Pacific Ocean.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 31' 24" N 122° 31' 02" W

A scenery photo of flowers, mountains, houses, clouds, Moss Beach, and the Pacific Ocean.

The flowers in the photo are California Goldfields (Lasthenia californica), Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum), Sea Figs (Carpobrotus chilensis), Yellow Bush Lupine (Lupinus arboreus), Yellow Mustard Flowers.

Photo shot near the same spot as above.

A scenery photo of the cypress tree tunnel.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 31' 19" N 122° 30' 56" W

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Olympus Photos

Harbor Seals & Rabbits (Cellphone Photos) - San Mateo County, CA

On 23 June 2023, my mom and I took a trip to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA and Mavericks Beach in El Granada, CA. I took photos with my cellphone and mirrorless camera. The photos are split into 2 blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Olympus Photos

These wildlife photos were shot on my cellphone through my binoculars. The photos were shot at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA and the parking lot for Mavericks Beach in El Granada, CA.

Binoculars Used: Bushnell Engage X 10x42mm Binoculars (Product Link - Affiliate Link)

Message from the Photographer: You probably don't know how much I needed this trip. I have been sick for 6 weeks now, and I have been stuck at home. I suspect the "cold" I had the first 4 to 5 weeks was most likely a COVID-19 infection. You can read about my last update here when I took a short hiking trip in Sycamore Valley Regional Open Space Preserve in Danville, CA. I haven't really been out of the house much since May (except to buy food and groceries), and my exercise time outdoors is quite limited. Luckily I'm vaccinated, so the symptoms were relatively mild, but I still had a few fevers, headaches, and severe fatigue for a month. I have also been dealing with a moderate breakout of what seems to be eczema. It's causing mild rashes all over my body, with 2 problem areas that is really severe. I never had it this bad before. I have been feeling horrible and claustrophobic, but I seem to be getting better now. My energy level hasn't completely recovered yet. Really happy to have headed out to the coast for a day trip. I seem to have gotten all the claustrophobia out of my system for now.

A photo of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina), the beach, and the Pacific Ocean. The photo was shot at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA.

Binoculars Used: Bushnell Engage X 10x42mm Binoculars (Product Link - Affiliate Link)

A photo of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina), the beach, and the Pacific Ocean. The photo was shot at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA.

Binoculars Used: Bushnell Engage X 10x42mm Binoculars (Product Link - Affiliate Link)

A photo of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) and the beach. The photo was shot at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA.

Binoculars Used: Bushnell Engage X 10x42mm Binoculars (Product Link - Affiliate Link)

A photo of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina), the beach, and the Pacific Ocean. The photo was shot at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA.

Binoculars Used: Bushnell Engage X 10x42mm Binoculars (Product Link - Affiliate Link)

A photo of a California Brush Rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum), and Wild Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). The photo was shot at the parking lot for Mavericks Beach in El Granada, CA.

Binoculars Used: Bushnell Engage X 10x42mm Binoculars (Product Link - Affiliate Link)

A photo of a California Brush Rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum), and Wild Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). The photo was shot at the parking lot for Mavericks Beach in El Granada, CA.

Binoculars Used: Bushnell Engage X 10x42mm Binoculars (Product Link - Affiliate Link)

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Olympus Photos

Point Lobos State Reserve (Birds and Seals)

I recently visited Monterey and went south a bit more also visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Big Sur. This trip along California's beautiful coastline has lead me take many many beautiful photos! I am here to share them with you spread over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy!

Before I get started, I would just like to remind you that I made a Facebook Fan page for this photography blog. You can "Like Us" here. I have also made Google+ and Twitter pages. If you follow or "Like" me on these, you can be updated whenever I post something new! :) Please invite your friends too! I'm trying to get more viewers on here. Anyways, as always, enjoy my photos!

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view the best photos from this trip, use this link. See my best bird photos from 2012 here. To view all of the photos from this trip, use this link.

Parts
Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery

Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc | Seagulls

Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos

Big Sur: HDR Scenery & Panorama | Regular Scenery

So after lots and lots of procrastination and pushing this back, I have finally started the Monterey, Point Lobos, and Big Sur photos. Due to the high amount of photos I took, I have done some serious planning (which took quite a while) and will be separating the photos into 11 blog posts. I have decided to do the birds and animal photos first because when I post the landscape photos later, I can tell you where all these were shot! :) I originally wanted to put the birds, animal, and squirrel photos into one post, but I had too many. Since about half of them were squirrels, those I decided to split into the next post. Today's photos will just be of some birds and seals..

Update 7-14-2012: I left out one of my seal photos last time so I added it to the end of this post! :) Please check it out!

Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)

This was the first photo I took on vacation. Apparently, I forgot to set my camera on RAW, but it still turned out great. I think this is one of the best bird photos I got on this trip! 

Photography Tip: If you set your camera to take RAW photos, it will help you a lot in post processing. In RAW, the white balance and some other values are not set. When a photo is converted to JPEG, those values will be set and will not be adjustable. This is the reason why RAW files are so big. I personally prefer shooting in RAW as it gives me more room to post process the image. I generally set my camera to do both RAW and a crude JPEG file as RAW photos can only be previewed using Photoshop or some kind of special software. The crude JPEG file allows me to easily preview the photo and decide whether I want to upload it or not. 

The bird got startled as I approached it. I thought the motion created a nice blur to the image. 

Darn some of the pine needles got in the way... 

I shot the bird photos (except the 1st one) at one of the picnic areas. This seagull was not scared of me at all! In fact, it was walking around scavenging what ever people drops (well and eating off their table when people weren't looking). 

 There was this island where most of the seals stayed at. These are harbor seals. I'll give you a bigger overview in my landscape post next time. The photos were shot at 300 mm. I used my telephoto lens.

I accidentally left this photo out the first time I posted. Here it is! :)

This is all the photos for this post. If you read my message above, you probably guessed next time I will be posting my squirrel photos. that is right. I am! :) I hope you have enjoyed these photos. Also, please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts
Point Lobos: Birds and Seals | Squirrels | Flowers and Misc | HDR Scenery | Regular Scenery

Fisherman's Wharf - Monterey, CA: George's Birds | Sapporo Sushi & Steakhouse | Scenery | Birds/Misc | Seagulls

Carmel-By-The-Sea: Photos

Big Sur: HDR Scenery & Panorama | Regular Scenery