Bowling ball beach concretions at low tide, Mendocino Coast
A Lesson in Tides and Timing at Bowling Ball Beach
The first time I saw a photograph of this place, I added it to my list of must-photograph destinations. This is Bowling Ball Beach, located along the Mendocino Coast of Northern California just inside Schooner Gulch State Beach. I’ve been there three times so far, and I may not get back again because it is getting a bit difficult to reach. Negotiating the trail down and scaling the eroded, steep cliff path requires some agility. As my age catches up with me, those tricky descents are starting to limit where I can safely haul myself and my gear.
I shot this particular frame back in 2016 at low tide when the "bowling balls" were fully revealed. It left an immense field stretching out in front of my lens filled with these incredible spherical stones. Because the daylight was still fairly harsh and direct, I converted the shot to black and white to emphasize the rich textures, dark shadows, and geometric repetition of the seascape. Geologically, these unique formations are Cenozoic sandstone concretions. Over millions of years, mineral cement, bound sand particles tightly together inside the surrounding rock layers. As the relentless Pacific waves pounded away at the softer mudstone cliffs, the harder sandstone spheres were gradually carved out and left sitting perfectly on the wave-cut bench.
The Vision That Got Away
After that first visit, I had a much better idea of what I hoped to capture photographically, on a return trip. My vision involved the tide being partially in—specifically with just the top third of these rounded rocks sticking out above the water. I was planning on doing a long exposure of at least a minute, probably closer to four minutes, using a solid neutral density filter to smooth out the crashing ocean into a magical, mystical mist floating around the stones. The trick with tide-dependent coastal photography is that water depth changes everything; if the tide is too high, the rocks vanish entirely, and if it is too low, you lose that ethereal liquid motion wrapping around the shape
Accepting the Unpredictable Nature of Coastal Light
Unfortunately, I had no easy way to figure out the exact tide height required for that precise visual depth, or when it would line up with the golden light of day. So the next time I went, I guessed wrong. The incoming tide had completely covered the rocks, and the tops wouldn't be revealed until long after the sun had set and total darkness set in. I don't really have the exact long-exposure shot I set out for yet, and given the physical demand of getting down that cliff, I may never get it. But that is the nature of landscape photography—sometimes the shot that stays in your head is the one that keeps you coming back to the coast.
Explore More of My Adventures
Exploring the tricky cliff path down to Bowling Ball Beach in Northern California, the geology behind these sandstone spheres, and a lesson in coastal tide timing.