Yucca - Torrey Pines, CA
Nature’s last stand, amidst the Southern California urban jungle, is Torrey Pines, a park that protects a rare pine tree and migrating birds. Sheltered from covetous developers encroaching on the beaches of this beautiful land, the park still suffers from overcrowding.
With its plentiful natural beauty, the park attracts large crowds of city dwellers seeking a temporary relief from their urban lifestyles. The constant “xcuse-me” of the nation’s densest gathering of joggers, paired with noisy city dwellers, make finding solitude impossible and concentrating on photography difficult. Hold on to your equipment when you float down the trails in a sea of people and do not try to swim upstream!
Eventually, you will find a clearance where you can discover nature beneath the visitors and create good images. Photography at Torrey Pines can be a lot of fun, if you do not expect a nature preserve without people.
How to get there
Torrey Pines State Reserve is located in La Jolla, north of San Diego and just south of Del Mar, along North Torrey Pines Road (County Highway S21). Traffic on this road often exceeds my expectations, ruining plans for an afternoon visit.
The park charges a steep entrance fee of $10. Normally, you can drive up the hill and park right at the trailheads. However, if you are out of luck, as I was during a recent visit, you have to park at the lower lot and hike up.
Parking just a few hundred feet from the free parking on North Torrey Pines Road and still having to climb the steep hill irritated my value meter. I got even more annoyed, when I realized that I had to come back to my car before sunset to avoid a parking ticket.
Parking outside would not present the same issue.
For photographers this means you can choose between paying $10 and ruining your chance of a relaxed sunset shoot, or walking a few hundred feet further, saving money and having time to take your pictures. It is painfully obvious why the state park system lacks income.
GPS position
How to photograph Torrey Pines State Park
Cliffs - Torrey Pines, CA
The best places to photograph the characteristic rugged cliffs of the park are from Razor Point and Yucca Point. Razor Point trail is the most popular and thus most crowded trail. Broken Hill Trail is far less crowded and offers a quieter experience. Broken Hill Overlook, a short side trail, leads to another beautiful cliff viewing area.
Most people will choose a wide-angle composition and get as much of the landscape in their picture as possible. A telephoto lens lets you eliminate all distractions from your images and focus entirely on the form of the cliffs. This is especially effective during sunny days, when the strong contrast creates hard lines. On hazy and foggy days, I prefer medium zooms, which create pleasing images in the soft light (see image above). A circular polarizing filter will bring out the color in the cliffs, clouds and water and help reduce the dynamic range (washed out skies) at the same time. Watch your exposure time carefully, especially on overcast days, when you use a CP filter and a small aperture setting to maximize depth of field.
Cactus Blossom
Sometimes we develop a tunnel vision for the grand landscapes. It takes additional effort to look for small, intimate compositions. These are valuable, since they are rare. One way to differentiate your work is by being more versatile than others. Publishers love choices and are thus more likely to select from your pictures.
Hikers at the Beach - Torrey Pines, CA
An unusual perspective is the view from above your subjects. Somewhere I read the expression “God View” for this kind of photograph. Views from above are atypical and thus interesting for viewers.
Yucca Point is a good place for “God View” photos of the beach below.
Leave room in your composition for people to walk into. With smaller groups of people that is easy to do, but with larger groups you need to trade the size of the objects for border space. I chose a tighter crop in my image, leaving only a small space to the left. I also did not want to cut off the shadows, which I placed as far to the right as I could, to maintain some room on the left.
The framing would be very similar, even if only the two children on the right were in the picture, since they walk into the picture. If only the two adults on the left were in this shot, the framing would be off. The space to the right (where they are coming from) is irrelevant. We need to see where people are going, unless the place they come from significantly contributes to the message of the image.
Torrey Pines Sunset
Torrey Pines also offers miles of pristine beaches and tide pools. If you face the dilemma of having to park at the lower lot and having to leave by sunset, I recommend that you reserve your beach photography for the final 30 minutes of the day near the entrance, as I did.
You can also reach the beach via stairs, just south of Yucca Point. Flat Rock is a superb foreground for sunset photographs. However, you will have to walk back along the beach in the darkness. Bring a flashlight if you choose this option.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
The golden light of the late afternoon sun brings out the color in the cliffs and trees and gives you the chance to catch a beautiful Southern California sunset.
Time required
You should account for the climb up and down the mountain, in case you cannot find parking at the top. The hike will take at least 45 minutes round trip, plus the time on the trails. Three to four hours are necessary.
Equipment
- Telephoto lens
- Medium zoom lens
- Wide-angle lens
- Lens hoods to avoid flares
- CP filter
- Tripod for sunsets
- Rugged shoes
- Water
- Polarizing sunglasses
- Flashlight
- Prepare for wind (layers of clothing)
Fees
$10 parking (see “How to get here” for information on free parking)
Close Locations
- La Jolla
- Mormon Temple
- Carlsbad
- San Luis Rey Mission
- San Diego Wild Animal Park (Escondido)
- San Diego Sea World
- Mission Bay
- San Diego Beaches
- San Diego California Temple (Mormon)
- Legoland California
Useful Resources
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