As soon as I looked at the beach from the overlook by the parking lot, I knew this day will be long. The tide was out several feet, allowing me to walk on dry ground (sand/rocks) north of the sea stacks.

It was cloudy unlike the last time when the above was mostly blue sky speckled with tiny clouds only near the horizon. A short walk on a muddy trail, scaling numerous tree trunks and I was back on the beach. The creek that drained into the ocean by the sea stack looked calm, the water surface occasionally breached by stones that bystanders threw at it. It was so cloudy that dramatic sunset seemed improbable but Emily and I were not willing to give up. With the day almost done and most beach visitors either back in the parking lot ready to leave or already left, I made my way south towards rocks that were farther out in the water, a familiar spot from last time when I was there with only the 45mm lens. This time not only I had a wide 21mm lens but also variable ND filter to allow me take long exposures hours before sunset.

Towards the end of the day the western sky opened up and sunlight lit up the rocks in perfect time.

The clouds turned orange for a second time after sunset providing more opportunities to photograph. The second and final episode was a lot more dramatic especially since there was no sun above the horizon, the only available light was from the reflecting clouds and a faint moon to the south west.

When the show was over fog rolled in from the north and as we walked back to our car it poured over the stacks hiding them until its time for the next gig possibly the next morning.