Hello,
I have never been in this part of California. Was planning on going up the coast. Seems like that should give me some great opportunities, but I understand there are some more interesting places on the way, but more inland. Could someone make some recommendations?
Regards,
vidman58

From Sur to Norte: anywhere along the 101, Quail Botanical Gardens, Queen Latifa's magical Gardens in Encinitas, Flower Fields in Carlsbad, Vista Antique Gas & Steam Museum, Oceanside Harbor, San Clemente Pier, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Huntington Beach Pier, Bolsa Chica ecological preserve. San Vicente lighthouse, Historic San Pedro, Redondo Beach Pier.......L long the I-5. The list goes on and on.....

How far inland do you want to go? Head east from San Diego on Hwy 8 toward the imperial valley, El Centro, then north to Brawley where you can spend a day shooting at the Salton Sea and there is also the Impereal sand dunes. Once at the Dunes, on the south side of the highway is a hugely popular place for ATV's and you can get good shots of them running on the dunes if you like. On the North side of the highway is the Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area where access is only by foot. From there you can head back Northwest toward Anza Borrego, or head further northeast toward Palm Springs & Joshua Tree NP. Outside of Palm Springs is the tram you can take to the top of Mt San Jacinto.

Other options inland would include Mount Palomar Observatory in San Diego Co. or head toward Big Bear in the mountains outside of Los Angeles.

Algodones Dunes:


Anza Borrego:



Big Bear:

Besides San Juan Capistrano (more gardens and rustic appearance), there is a mission, San Luis Rey, just inland in Oceanside (more open setting, whitewashed). The San Diego Wild Animal Park is not too far north of San Diego near Escondido off the I-15. Old Town in Temecula is off the I-15, the newer area of Temecula has a lot of wineries. Old Town gets a lot of western, motorcycle and auto type events, the wine country has the Balloon Festival, wine related events, etc. There are a number of beach parks, some with good surfing, some very good. San Onofre comes to mind, from Dana Point north, there's Laguna Beach, very arty, Crystal Cove, Corona Del Mar, Newport, etc. Not necessarily that order or the only spots, check Google and maps for the details and locations of access, etc.

Anaheim - the Disney park/resorts.

It really kind of depends on your interests, the kind of time you want to spend. From s simple driving standpoint, PCH/101 is mostly street driving, I-5 and I-15 are freeway all the way. The I-5 is in the coastal strip and is generally more interesting visually. Portions of the I-5 can be very busy but it's much more direct a route to the greater Los Angeles area, I-15 comes into western Riverside County, then San Bernardino County and isn't real convenient to the west side at all.

tagged

Wow! So many choices, and love the photos! I can't wait to get there. I wish I was spending more than a week! Going to be going there in May. Anything unique about that month? Of course, I suspect it will be a bit warm, but festivals, "happenings". Any old Spanish churches out there? Not the big ornate, but the simple but beautiful
Keep the advice coming, I really appreciate it!
Regards,
vidman58

If you like beaches in oc check 1000 steps and crystal cove. If you are wanting to try your hand at surf photography check out trestles or the wedge in newport. If you are interested pm me and I will give you a few other surf related spots to check.

Laguna Beach (it's an artist colony) and some of the coves around there, Carona Del Mar & the Newport Harbor area are pretty cool also.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned La Jolla! This is one of the best stretches of coastline for seascape shots.

The Mission San Diego Alcala - up Mision Valley in San Diego, San Luis Rey de Espana near Oceanside and Mission San Juan Capistrano (about a block off I-5 in San Juan Capistrano) are pretty simple outside. San Diego and San Juna Capistrano have been more closely surrounded by urban areas but are well maintained and gardened, San Luis Rey is still fairly open. The main church building at San Juan Capistrano was destroyed by earthquake in I believe 1812 and the parish rebuilt nearby, the grounds still contain an important chapel and many of the other buildings, gardens and fountains. I found visiting first thing on a Saturday morning was good, fewer visiting school classes. Spring is a good time for the gardens.

I have a gallery of San Juan here:

http://www.pbase.com/gillettecraig/sanjuancapistrano

Tagged as well!

This was a great thread for me. I'm a Californian and I didn't know about some of these places.

Thanks all

Rags

There is also Chino Hills State Park. There is a lot of wildflowers that are in season right now. I hope this helps

Oh, wow, the photos are making me drool! I can hardly wait. Thanks, thanks, thanks everyone!!! I will have my new Nikon D90 to get some great images!
Cheers,
vidman 58