I took this video on Sunday morning, extremely high tide, many sneaker waves washing in. Several people nearly got washed out while trying to take photos. Note the amount of sand moved on the beach, the stairs and life ring station are half buried under sand.

The new web site I designed for Liz Anah.

Liz Anah escaped from New Jersey at a young age, never looking back. Her spare, smoky vocal style and simple but unforgettable songs grew out of a journey that included stops in Michigan for school, a pilgrimage to an Ashram in India, and serious hard time teaching in the Oakland public schools. Liz Anah’s music has a kind of gritty innocence. Her songs are direct, potent stories of real-life heartache and shattered love, powered by an indomitable optimism that demands attention. (Excerpt from her website bio).

Liz's new CD realease 'Fade to Black' Photography by K.Stokes

I met Liz Anah through other local coastside musicians, namely Montara locals and good buddies Mark and Mike (The Fourth Street Experience). One night at Cafe Lucca open mike, Liz and I got talking after her set, she knew that I designed Mike McCalls CD ‘The Lone Cypress’ and worked with him on several photo-shoots. She told me that she had a new CD nearly ready for release and that she needed a design for the cover. We took it from there and agreed that I would shoot her for some promo shots and her CD cover and re-design her website to fit in with her new look. I’m really pleased with the result (so is Liz)! Visit the website www.lizanah.com it features several shots from the photo session taken one very cold day around the HMB boat yards. Liz wanted a gritty urban look, but also wanted to retain a feminine feel, I think we achieved what she was looking for. The final CD cover image was taken toward the end of the session in the afternoon light. ‘Fade to Black’ is Liz’s first CD release and you can get hold of a copy on her web site by clicking this link.

I saw this video on coastsider.com and had to share.

Here is the second installment on my ‘Waves and Riders’ surf photography series, this time the shots are mainly from sessions shot during the big storms that have been hitting the NorCal coast. I hope you enjoy (be sure to click on the ‘Fullscreen’ button in the middle of the image box to enjoy the work at full size).

Styrofoam covers a Pacifica Beach. Photo © Ian Butler

This problem just gets worse and worse, we must enforce a styrofoam ban NOW. Make your voice heard by clicking here. Take a look at John Mayburys Peninsula Coastside Blog entry by clicking here.

Jaws in full effect, Maui, Hawaii.

My good friend Hal sent me this picture of Jaws, taken the day before yesterday. It’s insane, regular 30ft swells are hitting the Islands, we are next!

Check out the live weather, swell, and surf updates on the Mavs site, click here.

Photo ©Yelp.com 2009

My wife and I were excited to see another eatery open on the coast and we got the opportunity to try it out last night. We often meet on our way home from work to eat out when we can’t be bothered to cook at home. The High Tide Restaurant Cafe and Creperie seemed like the sort of place that you could drop in on and get a reasonably price meal without dropping too much coin. The place was busy and full at 6.40pm, obviously the early dinner crowd, we ordered from the menu and took a number, the lady taking orders seemed a little grumpy. The whole place is covered in this wild acid trip painting style, [Read more →]

Premiere tonight at La Costanera 6-11.00pm movie starts at 7.00pm, no cover. Come and support our local film makers.

MONTARA makes #6!

I know it’s not been open long, and wrinkles are still being ironed out, but I am curious as to the publics initial opinion on our latest addition to the coastsides restaurant roster. I have heard many different experiences and thought it might be interesting to do a quick straw poll.

Explorer – Just Outside San Francisco, a Wild Coastline – NYTimes.com.

Looks like we made it in to the travel section of the New York Times.

The floodlit entrance

We were lucky enough to get an invitation to the ’soft’ opening of the new Peruvian restaurant on Friday night. The official ‘Grand Opening’ for the general public is next Friday. We were warned that as this was the first live run of the new kitchen and staff so be prepared for some hiccups. Our party of six was welcomed at the door by two hostesses and we were seated in the middle of the floor in front of the open kitchen. As we looked around we recognized many Montara local faces, and waved and said hi. Shortly after we were seated, our server Luigi brought us a tray of Pisco sours to try, ‘it’s the Peruvian equivalent of a margarita’ he said, delicious. Our cocktail was swiftly followed by a dazzling array of appetizer plates delivered by more servers dressed head to toe in black. If this was a test run I can’t wait to try the food when they really have it dialed in! It was delicious, our group was truly blown away by the freshness and quality of the food. Seafood cooked to perfection and spicy hot ceviche so fresh that I expected it to jump off the plate and flap around on the table. [Read more →]

This is one lucky guy! As I drove to work this morning I saw the twisted skid marks and the impact site on the old stone barrier. Anyone who knows this road must wonder what was going through his head as he plummeted 150ft toward the rocks and certain death (it’s around 300ft high there), must have needed to change his shorts, that’s for sure. Lesson learned: Devil’s Slide+Fog+speed=TROUBLE.

Read the full story in the SF Chronicle

I would like to personally thank each and every volunteer that gave up their Saturday morning to come and help clean our coastline for the 25th California Coastal Clean Up day. Over 50 volunteers turned up at Montara State Beach to help out, including a large enthusiastic crowd from Sunset Magazine. We had people travel from far and wide including one couple who drove from Reno and another man from Palo Alto.

So far with just 65% of the cleanup sites results in, the statewide count stands at 66,550 volunteers, which should approach the event goal of 70,000 volunteers. Those volunteers picked up 819,394 pounds of trash and an additional 89,899 pounds of recyclable [Read more →]

Coastal Cleanup Day is the highlight of the California Coastal Commission’s year ‘round Adopt-A-Beach program and takes place every year on the third Saturday of September, from 9 a.m. to Noon. In 2009, that day falls on September 19, [Read more →]

La Costanera, Montara

UPDATE: First full restaurant review here

The guys at La Costanera seem to be putting the final touches to the interior of the new restaurant/bar. Peaking through the window I can see lots of beachcomber type decor being used, muted sand colors cover the walls and chair fabric, tasteful. It seems there will be three levels plus the patio. October is the promised date, let’s wish them luck hitting that date.  Contemporary Peruvian Cuisine is what’s promised… [Read more →]

Inside the Devils Slide tunnel ©CalTrans. Photographer John Huseby

I was thinking just the other day how awesome it would be to get a tour inside one of the tunnel bores, and of course take my trusty Canon 20D with me.
Imagine being INSIDE the mountain deep under the rock which has not seen the light of day for probably many millions of years. Well chances of that happening for me are pretty slim, but there is a very lucky HMB photographer by the name of Larrs Howlett who got that chance. Here is a link to a slideshow gallery of his exciting visit into the very bowels of the mountain. Great shots, I’m very jealous…. There is also an Official Caltrans Photography Catalog by photographer John Huseby. Enjoy.

A Millbrae man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he caused a deadly Saturday accident on Devil’s Slide that resulted in the death of a 32-year-old woman. [Read more →]