Belmont Shore offers the relaxed Southern California Beach atmosphere you expect when you visit this neck of the world. CSI Miami fans may feel a strange déjà vu here.
Fear not, you neither are in the Matrix nor have you teleported to Florida, you simply stumbled on the secret filming locations for the show. Looking through my sunset pictures, I realized David Caruso’s hair is not to blame for CSI Miami’s characteristic orange tint, but rather the Southern California sun.
You will find palm lined promenades, spectacular sunsets, and a photogenic pier. A perfect picture, if the trash, stray dogs, and dirt would not spoil it otherwise. You can avoid most of those imperfections in your pictures, but you can find better places to hang out for the day.
How to get there
Drive southeast on E. Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach. Follow it to the very end and park your car at the metered lot. Parking is free after 6pm (check the meter), which is perfect if you arrive for sunset shots.
A second, larger parking lot is located near the intersection of E. Ocean Boulevard and Bennett Avenue. This lot is closer to the pier area. You can also park at the pier parking lot at the southern end of S. Termino Avenue, but this lot fills up faster.
GPS position
How to photograph Belmont Shore
Belmont Beach Footsteps
Walking along the shore, I saw these footprints in the sand. By using a very short focal length, I was able to get the footprint in the foreground and the city skyline in the background into the same picture. The short focal length makes it easier to keep everything in focus. I manually focused to 2m and used a narrow aperture to accomplish this large depth of field. On the focus ring of this lens, 2m is very close to infinity. This ensures that everything in the distance is very sharp. I rather compromise sharpness in the foreground, where a small amount of blur is the size of a grain of sand than in the background, where it can be as large as a building.
My camera was only a few inches above the ground. I used the live view mode to help me in the composition and to keep my horizon straight.
The footprints draw the viewer into the picture, to the bright sun. After we look at this image for a while, we notice the skyline of Long Beach in the distance, just where the sun sets. Bright locations usually draw our attention and since our eyes naturally wander to the lower right corner, the footprints bring us back into the picture. While the layers slowly unfold and we discover more details, the picture remains interesting for a longer time.
Belmont Shore Lifeguard Tower
Beach photographs often lack a strong subject and a focal point. There is water and sand and sometimes a sunset. You have to work harder to make the subject work. Pick a strong foreground subject and get very low with your camera to add interest or look for other subjects such as this lifeguard tower.
The skyline of Long Beach is about the same distance in this photograph, but it appears much larger, due to the longer focal length. Walking closer to the lifeguard tower and using a shorter focal length would make it smaller.
Belmont Pier by mslaura
The Belmont Pier is a good place to photograph anglers and to get a different perspective on the beach. By itself, it is not very photogenic, but its silhouette looks good against the setting sun and its lights look good 30 minutes after the sunset, when you can still get some colors in the sky.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
The time before sunset has the best light. If you are lucky enough to have some clouds in the sky, but an unobstructed view of the horizon where you expect the sun to set, you can bet on a legendary and spectacular Southern California sunset.
Time required
You need at least one hour to get a glimpse of the beach, but you can easily spend a leisurely afternoon photographing and enjoying the sun.
Equipment
- Zoom Lens
- CP Filter
- Wide-angle lens
Fees
Beach access is free.
Close Locations
- Naples Island and Canals
- Huntington Beach
- Newport Beach
- Laguna Beach, Treasure Island
- Crystal Cove State Park
- Shoreline Village
- Queen Mary
- San Pedro
- Mission San Juan Capistrano
- Palos Verdes
- Santa Catalina Island
- Point Vicente
- Crystal Cathedral
- Disneyland
- Huntington Library
Useful Resources
Subscribe to my feed and be the first to learn about the secret places to photograph.
If you like this post, use the buttons below to bookmark it or vote for it.
Tweet This! :: 
E-Mail This!
Do you find this post 
de.licio.us? Tell people that you 
reddit!
2 Comments
That golden glow is magical!
Gorgeous coastal city, you can feel the authentic atmosphere there through your great shots! I love the architecture of the buildings near the beach, wonderful. The photo of the footsteps in the sand is a masterpiece, nice to make a poster of it. Great job to capture the steps, the skyline and the afternoon sunlight. You made my day!
Jürgen.