Well, thanks for spending the entire week at the beach with me! 
Here are a few parting shots. All were taken the morning that I had to leave. My only morning spent there, actually.
Conversation
A couple of fellas having an early morning talk. Hey! It’s summer, might was well get up early, go to the beach, and hang out under the pier!
Under the pier
Naturally, with the nice, long pier, I had to take a shot! Cliche? So what!
A pickled pair
These two women, even though it was about 6:30 AM, were certainly drunk! They were very nice, but very pickled. The one in the green could barely figure out how to work her point and shoot. It was quite comical. I spent a few minutes talking to them, upwind from them. Standing downwind would have given me a contact high! 
The collectors
Mother and daughter out on a morning stroll to pick up those prized seashells.
OK, now back to reality. It’s been almost a week and I haven’t even started adding keywords to these photos. Luckily, I only have about 250 from this trip … let’s not talk about the other 800+ from previous outings that I haven’t done! Hey, a thousand behind ain’t so bad! Sigh! My ‘work’ is never done!
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10 Responses to “Parting shots”
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Hi Paul,
Nice shots as always.
Key words… Just curious about how you organize your photos. I’ve started using Adobe Bridge which seems to be doing the job but it can be quite a chore. Considering Lightroom though it seems a little redundant when using Photoshop as well.
Cheers!
Just be glad your images are jpegs and not RAW files, then you’d have a LOT of work to do.
Rob:
I use Lightroom for everything that I used to use Bridge for. I add my keywords, which I’ve whittled down to a hundred or so in a hierarchical structure.
I find that Lightroom is good for organizing my images, exporting them for my blog, uploading galleries for my son’s basketball team, etc. For more than trivial editing, I still use CS2 and I don’t think that Lightroom was meant to replace that. I no longer use Bridge. I find Lightroom’s work area much more user friendly.
It’s been a wonderful series.
I also use Lightroom, it’s awesome!
I have often wondered what is it exactly that makes beaches such inviting places? Our longing for deeper connection to the sea? I believe we are trying to reconnect with where we originally came from.
Mark: That is a good question. I never had an affinity for the beach until I met my wife, Vera. She was born in Brazil and spent most of her life on the beach. It calms her and renews her spirit.
I guess that I’ve never been much of a fan, until now, because of the heat and humidity that I associated with it; however, I find myself inexorably drawn to it in times of inner turmoil. It’s just a great place to unwind. I think that, for me, it is the ceaseless motion of the waves, the smell in the air, and the breeze.
I can, too, find solace in the embrace of the mountains, particularly on a cool, foggy morning. I guess what the two have in common is their grand scale. I just feel renewed there.
Paul, I like this collection, especially the first one. Even though the focus is on the two guys talking under the pier, there are two more in the distance. The huge structure and the size of the people make for a really nice image. Plus, I feel like I’ve been on vacation. Nice work, as always!
Thanks for sharing these Paul. Great work. I can certainly see a difference in west vs. east coast beaches, but these do remind me of my days in Southern California. From hanging around the piers, to still being a little tipsy at 6 am on the beach, and meeting interesting characters, this all brings back my early 20′s. I even had a Newport Beach lifeguard as a room mate. Those are some pretty amazing kids! Have a great weekend!
Very beautiful set of images, Paul. I encountered a group of young men who had been drinking one morning at sunrise. It does seem very odd but rather entertaining – at least they were happy drunks.
I can also relate to being hundreds of photos behind. I am swamped and may need to take a vacation just to get to all of them. I am hoping that a return home to my former schedule (in a month) will help me get back on track.
The shot of the Pier is classical, but always a joy to watch…
@Kathy: Oh yes, same here. I also would need a vacation just to catch up. However, I always end up taking more photos during any type of vacation. Oh well, so be it… Seems to be part of the game.