Surf’s up in Sunset Cliffs, San Diego and the Pacific Ocean is calling your name!

Surf’s up in San Diego and the Pacific Ocean is calling your name!, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

From one coast to another! Yes, the lavish lifestyle of a travel photographer. I was in Washington, DC a couple of weeks ago waiting for the cherry blossoms to bloom and now I am back in my hometown of San Diego, California soaking up the sun.

My photography has taken me all over the world, but sometimes I forget that I live in an American paradise here in “Sun” Diego. The weather has been in the high 70s this week so the other day I went to one of our hidden gems called Sunset Cliffs. This area has sheer cliffs that borders the Pacific Ocean and as the name states, it is a popular place for locals to watch the sunset.

There are some surfing spots below the cliffs and I spied on these two surfers as they headed down toward the ocean. I followed them down the cliffs and I captured one of the surfers just as he jumped into the water while his friend looked on.

I hope everybody has a great weekend. I am going sailing today and the weather will be at a high of 82 degrees. With that type of weather I may be jumping into the water just like the surfer!

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Life's a beach and then you die? Lumahai Beach; Kauai, Hawaii

Life's a beach and then you die? Lumahai Beach; Kauai, Hawaii, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

Lumaha'i Beach is located on Kauai’s northern shore, but do not let the picturesque views fool you. It is a beach best viewed from a distance rather than swimming. The beach has no protective reef, making the coast totally exposed to the open ocean. Nicknamed "Luma-die" by the locals, the slippery rock ledges, powerful waves, strong undertow and currents make this one of Kauai’s most dangerous beaches. I played it safe and went to the beach with my camera and left the swimming trunks behind.

Was there every a time you felt endangered while photographing?

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Kauai is magic: you can transform it into Asia, Africa or South America- and never leave the USA

Kauai is magic: you can transform it into Asia, Africa or South America - and never leave the USA, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

“Kauai is magic: you can transform it into Asia, Africa or South America - and never leave the USA.” - Kathleen Kennedy (Producer: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hook, Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III)

If you haven’t been to the Garden Isle of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands you undoubtedly have seen the island in countless commercials, television shows and full-length featured movies.

Here are a couple of movies where Kauai served as a natural sound stage for Hollywood:

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Just Go With It (2011)
The Descendants (2011)
Soul Surfer (2011)
Avatar (2010)
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Jurassic Park III (2001)
6 Days / 7 Nights (1998)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Honeymoon in Vegas (1992)
Hook (1991)
Uncommon Valor (1983)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1983)
King Kong (1976)
The Hawaiians (1970)
Blue Hawaii (1961)
South Pacific (1958)

So what was filmed here at Moloa’a Beach? Of course the great 1960s American sitcom Gilligan’s Island. Now let’s all sing that memorable theme song:

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Rise of the Silver Surfer - Oceanside, California

Rise of the Silver Surfer, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

Another glorious day ends, along with my series on warm winter days in my hometown of San Diego, California. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

I’ll be posting more photos of San Diego in the future, but at the moment I have so many other photos to share with you guys from my globe trekking journeys.

Here is a photograph I took of Marvel Comics superhero The Silver Surfer at Oceanside Beach. How cool is that?

=============================

With a population of over 1.3 million, San Diego is the eight largest city in the country and the second largest city on the West Coast. Blessed with pristine beaches, diverse cultures, world renown tourist attractions, a strong military presence and near perfect climate it has been declared, "America's Finest City."

San Diego is considered the birthplace of California. Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo landed in San Diego's Point Loma area in 1542, claiming the area for Spain. In 1972 former mayor Pete Wilson gave the city the nickname, "America's Finest City."

Bordered in the North by Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, The Pacific Ocean in the West, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the East and Tijuana, Mexico in the South, San Diego stands alone as an American paradise.

And yes, San Diego is so cool that The Silver Surfer surfs at our beaches.

Happy Travels!

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The Beach Boys “Surfin’ USA”

The Beach Boys “Surfin’ USA”, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

The Beach Boys classic song, “Surfin’ USA,” mentions some top surfing beaches in San Diego County. Here they are featured in the lyrics in bold.

Watch the Beach Boys perform “Surfin’ USA”

If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californ-i-a
You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U.S.A.

You'd catch 'em surfin' at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Trestles
Australia's Narrabeen
All over Manhattan
And down Doheny way
Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

We'll all be planning out a route
We're gonna take real soon
We're waxing down our surfboards
We can't wait for June
We'll all be gone for the summer
We're on surfari to stay
Tell the teacher we're surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Haggerty's and Swami's
Pacific Palisades
San Onofre and Sunset
Redondo Beach L.A.
All over La Jolla
At Waimea Bay

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin U.S.A

Yeah, everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin U.S.A.

I took this sunset photograph of Oceanside Beach which isn’t featured in the song.

It doesn’t matter because...

Everybody’s gone surfin’

Surfin’ U.S.A.

Happy Travels!

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You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day

You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

“You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn't waste either.” - Galen Rowell (1940-2002)

Another photograph from Windansea Beach in La Jolla and the second from my San Diego series. This is the same young woman from my previous post that was admiring the San Diego sunset. I liked how the color of her shoes matched the colors of the sunset sky.

Yes, I planned that all along!

I hope this photograph warms up the weekend for my friends who live in the frigid parts of the world.

Remember you only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, do the math and keep your finger on your shutter button.

Happy Travels!

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Come and enjoy a Windansea Sunset in La Jolla, California

Come and enjoy a Windansea Sunset in La Jolla, California, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

I spent most of last year photographing in foreign countries. As a result, sometimes I forget how beautiful my hometown of San Diego, California really is. So this will be the start of my new San Diego series. I hope you enjoy it.

Windansea Beach is located in La Jolla which is a community of San Diego, California. It’s very popular with local surfers (who happen to be very territorial) and is one of the best places in San Diego to watch a sunset.

Windansea is a hidden gem of San Diego and I do mean hidden. For those visiting from out of town it maybe a little difficult to find. No problem, just follow the La Jolla coastline until you find the famous palm-covered surf shack.

I photographed this young woman watching the sun kiss the Pacific Ocean as time transcended once more from day into night.

By the way, that’s the famous palm-covered surf shack to help orient yourself if you decide to visit my lovely hometown and seek the sunset at Windansea.

Happy Travels!

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There are no Snow Blowers in Paradise

There are no Snow Blowers in Paradise, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

This photograph is for to all my friends who live in areas where winter is defined by freezing temperatures, bleak skies and the sound of snow blowers.

This is the beach at Tulum which is located in the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. White, limestone sands and crystal blue waters all dramatically situated by ancient Mayan ruins.

Paradise found!

I was born and raised in San Diego, California where the sun shines year around. When the weather dips below 60 degrees we call that freezing temperatures in Southern California.

A couple of years ago, for some odd reason that I can’t explain even today, I decided to take a job promotion in Appleton, Wisconsin. So I traded in the sand for the snow and left the sunny shores of California for the Midwest.

Big mistake.

One winter day in December a blizzard greeting us by dumping an enormous amount of snow. Later that evening, after work, I was out in my driveway shoveling snow. I didn’t have a snow blower for two reasons: (1) I thought I wouldn’t be in Wisconsin very long (I ended up being there for two years). (2) I thought shoveling snow would be great exercise. My neighbor next door saw I was getting nowhere fast so he came over with his snow blower to help me out.

Mind you this was in the evening where the temperature dropped down to about twenty degrees. This California boy was bundled up in my thickest down jacket with five layers of REI’s best synthetic clothing. My neighbor kept warm with just camouflage sweat pants and a Green Bay Packer hoodie.

“Are you warm in that?” I asked.

“Oh this is nothing. December is when we get all the snow, but in January is when the temperature really drops, sometimes below zero,” he replied, “you know, you should really buy a snow blower.”

I never did buy that snow blower.

I ended up buying a round trip ticket to the Philippines where I enjoyed nearly three weeks of sunshine in January.

I never did see a snow blower in the Philippines nor in Tulum, Mexico and I don’t ever intend to see one ever again.

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Maybe the world was upside down before, and now it's right side up!

Maybe the world was upside down before, and now it's right side up!, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."  - Robert Louis Stevenson


The feeling of not knowing where you are and where you are going is indescribable. No plans, no reservation, no itinerary.

I love to travel because it is all about the people you meet and the things you see along the way.

I suffer from a serious case of wanderlust.

After six months in Southeast Asia I headed back home to San Diego, California. After two months I was itching to get back on the road, so I packed my bag, dusted off my camera lens and headed south of the border, down Mexico way.

Tulum is a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city located on spectacular cliffs, along the East coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

I photographed this woman doing a headstand on the beautiful beach of Tulum with the Maya ruins and the turquoise water of the Caribbean in the background.

After all the media hype last year of Maya apocalypse end of the world scenarios you would think the world was turned upside down. Maybe the world was upside down, but this woman’s handstand has and now made it right side up!

So where is your wanderlust taking you this year?

Happy Travels!

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The Sun has set on 2011...Here’s to a bright 2012!

The Sun has set on 2011...Here’s to a bright 2012!, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

Happy New Year!

I know I’m a couple of days late, but I was on the road for New Years. I did a quick little road trip to Arizona visiting the red rocks in Sedona, ringing in the new year in the mountain town of Flagstaff and taking in awe inspiring views at the Grand Canyon National Park.

Sunny days and mild, year-round weather make San Diego’s beaches a world class destination. Winter in San Diego is the best time to photograph landscapes due to clear skies (no haze or fog).

Imperial Beach or "I.B." is the most southwesterly city in the continental United States. I took this photograph of the Imperial Beach Pier right after sunset while standing in the water. Well, in all truthfulness my camera and tripod were in the water and I ran like a little child back to dry sand after I clicked the shutter button to avoid getting wet. If you were standing on the pier you would get a clear view of the country of Mexico which is only a stone’s throw away (that is if you have an arm like quarterback Cam Newton).

So now that the sun has set on 2011, a new chapter in my life has open up for 2012.

A little less than a month to go for my South East Asia trip. For some reason I haven’t done much research or planning for this trip. I learned after years of traveling that flexibility is far more important than research.

For my South East Asia Flickr contacts I would love to get together with you when I’m in your city for a photo shoot, to grab a cup of coffee or to just say hello. Please drop me a line.

So far my itinerary is shaping up to be flying into Singapore on February 3, 2012. After a couple of days I’ll head north to Kuala Lumpur and the rest of Malaysia. Then onto Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Also on my radar will be the Philippines, Myanmar, Hong Kong and India.

Thank you for your friendship and support in 2011 and here’s to another successful year in 2012.

Happy Travels!

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The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

A break from my Costa Rica photos as I return to my Coastal Carolina and Georgia trip.

Wrightsville Beach is a beautiful beach town near Wilmington, North Carolina. In perfect solitude I enjoyed this sunrise at Crystal Pier. As someone who was born and raised near the Pacific Ocean, experiencing a sunrise along the Atlantic Ocean is a rare occurrence.

Ernest Hemingway wrote in his classic work, The Sun Also Rises, that “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters.” Well, a close second would probably be photographers who can capture an image in a brief instant and turn it into a lasting moment.

Happy Travels!

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Over The Line or Over the Top?

Welcome to the 56th Annual World Championship Over-The-Line (OTL) Tournament 2009. A San Diego original, OTL is a form of beach softball, with 1,200 three-member teams competing in almost 2,400 games leading up to the final match.

Click here to to find out how to play OTL

With free flowing beer, outrageous team names and bikini clad women some may ask if this is a sporting event or one huge beach party. Well, it's a combination of both satisfying players and gawkers. In addition, it was a good use of my Canon "L" lenses -- if I'm going to photograph anything why not beautiful women?

The World Championship Over-The-Line is held every year in July at Fiesta Island on Mission Bay in San Diego, California. It was on the beaches of San Diego where OTL was founded. Admission is free but the host organization, The Old Mission Bay Athletic Club (OMBAC), requires all guests abide by the "Five B Rules." No bottles, babies, bowsers (dogs), birds and Boa Constrictors.

OTL teams are comprised of three players on each side. Many teams wear outrageous uniforms, or skimpy bikinis, and sport adult theme team names that either leave you laughing or nauseated. Where OTL differs from softball is that the pitcher and batter are on the same team and there is no base running.

OTL requires more precision than power from the batter as their objective is to hit the ball into fair territory without the opposing team fielder catching the ball.

I have been photographing OTL for the past couple of years and I have found the best camera outfit to have is two camera bodies - one body with a wide angle zoom and other camera body with a telephoto lens. My Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS lens mounted on my Canon 50D provided the tight portrait action shots. I used both my Canon Powershot SX1 IS and a Canon 20D with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II lens for my wide and medium range shots.

Its gets windy on the playing field and sand blows everywhere. I use a micro fiber cloth to wipe off the sand and shower caps (yes, one of the secrets of travel photography I learned is that shower caps from motel rooms come in handy to cover your SLR camera in the event of inclement weather) to protect my cameras from the sand. One sand grain lodged in your camera will put you in camera hell!

So it is Over-The-Line or over the top? Well one thing is for sure that The Over-The-Line Tournament provides over the top photo opportunities!

All photos and text copyright Sam Antonio Photography.

Be sure to view more photos from The Over The Line Tournament over at my Flickr site:

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