Looking for seascape photography location advice in Malibu

I will be making a short business trip to Los Angeles this coming week, and I

am planning to bring my camera and tripod to shoot some Pacific seascape

nearby, perhaps in Malibu before the meetings.

 

I can probably arrive a day early, and my plans are to stay in a closeby hotel

with the intention to shoot from dusk to dawn the next day. Would some locals

advise which beach(es) would provide the most scenic foreground/background for

sunrise/sunset shots? I will arrive mid afternoon so I may have time to shoot

at more than one location.

 

This will be my first time shooting seascape so any technical advice is also

welcomed.

 

Finally are there any reasonable hotels with internet access hearby that you

can recommend?

One nice spot for sunrise (you could do sunset there, but much better for sunrise or moonlight) is Paradise Cove towards the western side of Malibu. There is a great seafood restraunt where I bought a bowl of clam chowder and a coffee to enjoy while I made some long night exposures of the fishing pier. You can also go the main pier in town, about four miles north of the Pacific Coast Highway/Topanga Canyon junction. This pier would be ideal for sunsets. I don't know anything about the hotels in this area. Try Google Maps or Google Earth for aerial photos of the area. On Google Earth you can check azimuths from your desired point of view to the subject, and then check sunrise/sunset azimuths on the web to see if the sun will be directly behind your subject or not.

There are a couple of "pocket beaches" which are quite popular. Robert H. Meyer State Beach:

 

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=633

 

There are a number of other public beaches along the coast there as well. You might want to also check on the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California State parks, and Ventura and Los Angeles County Parks as well. I've got a few shots here, nothing stunning, I haven't down a whole lot of beach shooting, I usually avoid the more crowded beaches in summer, not a big beach person, I guess. The beach shots are at El Matador pocket beach.

 

http://www.pbase.com/gillettecraig/malibu

Dan Spurgeon

 

I did the same thing, from the Sand Castle restaurant, while living in Paradise Cove. Here's my result of a timed moonrise shot of the pier. The frontlighting was provided by the interior restaurant lights.

 

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