Carmel

[acjtucson]

I will be in Carmel for a week in July. First time. Any tips on neat places to

shoot? I would like to get some B/W coast shots with my old Hasselblad. I am

trying out some new 25 ISO Rollei film and a Croatian 25 ISO film as well.

[Monophoto]

Point Lobos State Park is a great place to go for seascapes. It opens at 9am, and there is usually a line of cars waiting for them to open the gate. I particularly enjoy the "Weston's Beach" area, but the Whaling Cabin is also neat. There is a nominal access fee.

 

Carmel Mission is another great place - both for interiors and exteriors. There is no admission fee, but they do request donations.

[JDMvW]

I see that the "Tickle Pink Inn" is still in business ( http://www.ticklepinkinn.com/ ). It's a nice place to base yourself while in the area. All the Ansel Adams places, of course.<div></div>

[craig_gillette]

South of Carmel you have the whole Big Sur area, then farther south you can go to

Hearst Castle. You aren't too far from Cambria and Morro Bay at the south end of

the drive. (Stock up on munchies and gas before heading south, the resort area

pricing takes full advantage of the remote locations. :0 Cambria and Morro Bay

aren't too bad. It's the in-betweens that are sometimes pricey. ) You may want to

consider the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas (near San Simeon).

Google search these various names for more info. McWey Falls at Julia Pfeiffer

Burns State Park is famous, lighting is better later in the day.

 

Monterey and Pacific Grove have buildings ranging from the earliest Spanish

colonial days to early California statehood and Victorians along the coast. Also

there are a number of nice rocky beaches and boardwalks. The aquarium,

Cannery Row and Fisherman's wharf are interesting and offer architectural, sea

birds and marine mammal oportunites.

[bruce_stenman1]

Monterey has a lot more scenic areas as well as the old adobe buildings and homes and courtyards, wharf, etc., while Carmel is pretty much a tourist trap but a good base for branching out.

 

Pt. Lobos is very nice but as it is a park they lock the gates long before sunset in the summer so you will need to walk in if you want early morning or late afternoon shots.

 

The Carmel Mission and Tor House are worth a visit while in Carmel proper.

 

An excellent guide book is the Photo Secrets one for Northern California. Best money you will ever spend on photography.

[bwcombs]

Also, if you can, take a spin up Carmel Valley toward the east. There are some nice scenics there, hills, trees, vineyards, etc.

[acjtucson]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions. Hopefully I will be able to post some nice photos upon my return.

[kin_lau]

A little late, but fog is quite likely in July (I've been there 3 times in the summer and always had at least 1 day of fog), so be sure to bring some faster film and/or a tripod and bring a warm jacket/sweater.

 

The drive up Big Sur is outstanding. Just make sure you'll have enough time to stop along the way... and you will, many times.

[craig_gillette]

The Santa Cruz area (tothe north) has some interesting opportunities. In addition to the beach and boardwalk, there are a number of state parks in the area withe redwoods and in Felton there is the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad - a narrow gauge tourist railroad, operating in the forests.

 

It's worth checking any of these places when you arrive, there have been a number of fires in the area and that may mean some places are better or worse choices than maybe otherwise might be.