In the late afternoon low winter sun at Pt. Reyes National Seashore this Tule Elk had a catch light in his eye. Several herds are often seen from the Piece Pt. Road or the road to Drakes Beach (as in the case of this elk). Sometimes they let you get pretty close. Using a 400 mm lens I was able to capture this frame filling image. A half a dozen elk were roaming among the cows, which was also an interesting image although it felt less “wild.â€Â You can drive these roads many times before these magnificent creatures are within camera range. Return and return again! Pt. Reyes is a wonderful place because you have many subjects and terrains to choose from. So if the elk aren’t with in “shooting range†you can head to the beach or out to the lighthouse.
Just down the road at Drakes beach a small stream was trickling across the beach with two sleeping elephant seals on each side (not photogenic in this position). But the ripples in the sand caused by the flowing stream water made beautiful patterns, especially around the rocks in the water. As the light hit various ripples additional light patterns were added to 
the mix. It was interplay of ripples in the water and ripples in the sand and ripples of light. The placement of the rock is on one of the golden points.  These are the third marks.
I use a tripod the majority of the time, even when I have lots of light making it easy to have a fast shutter. It helps me to slow down and spend more time thinking about the composition and communion with my subjects. But these images were both hand held shots.