A Few Evenings in Huntington Beach

I was down in Southern California for a few days in mid-April. Most of my time was spent around Huntington Beach, where the evenings have a very specific quality. The sun setting over the pier creates this intense orange haze, turning the rows of palm trees into stark silhouettes against the light.

After the sun dips below the horizon, the light softens completely. I spent a while just watching the evening traffic pass under the main pedestrian bridge. It's a constant stream of cars moving along the coastal highway, right next to the sand. The bridge itself is a local landmark, connecting the town to the beach.

A panoramic view from the evening shows the whole scene laid out: the wide beach, the road, and the mission-style architecture of the buildings lining the coast, with their lights just beginning to come on. It’s a landscape completely defined by the ocean and the highway that runs alongside it.