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Cellpic Sunday – Noyo Headlands Park

Ocean view

Fort Bragg, California.

For all of the 20th century, residents of Fort Bragg didn’t have access to their beautiful rocky coastline. From 1885 to 2002, a lumber mill and its facilities blocked any access to the ocean views. After the plant closed and many dollars were spent on reclaiming the natural beauty of the shoreline, Noyo Headlands Park opened. In addition to the restored ocean views, there is a new segment to the California Coastal Trail. The trail system will eventually span 1200 miles (1931 km) from California’s Oregon and Mexican borders.

As we traveled the scenic coastline highway, we stopped to admire the beautiful coastline view. A reclamation project was started in 2004 that cost millions of dollars and restored the area to its original coastal beauty. Until I started writing this post, I had no idea it is the former site of a very large lumber mill.

About the photo: I captured three images of the Noyo Bay from our vantage point off California’s scenic Highway 1. On the extreme left, out of range of this photograph, the Noyo River drains into the Pacific Ocean. Across the bay is part of the community of Fort Bragg. Click on the image to view the photo in full-width view and 2K HD on my Flickr site.

The photo was captured on my Samsung S20U in three separate images and joined together by Lightroom’s Panorama tool. After a few basic tweaks, I brought the panoramic image into Luminar Neo and finished the image. Neo’s masking function allowed me to selectively raise the exposure level of the distant cliffs. The camera’s automatic exposure adjusted for the relatively bright overcast sky and left much of the landscape underexposed.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge-response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment.

John Steiner

46 comments

  21. I once travels the scenic coastal highway when I changed Army duty stations from Alaska to Georgia my car was shipped to Washington State. I drove down to Campton, California then to Baltimore, MD and finally to Georgia. The coast was gorgeous!

    Reply

  23. […] These next photos are from my Week 6 hike (1.34 miles) on a trail in El Moro Canyon at Crystal Cove State Park, culminating in a relaxing day at the beach, until it started raining (of course, we did not leave–stayed under the umbrella). The best kinds of hikes in the summer are when it’s overcast (but not thundering or lightning) and I get to take a lot of nature photos. Also sharing for Terri’s Sunday Stills — Summertime and John’s Cellpic Sunday. […]

    Reply

  27. I had no idea you could walk 1200 miles along the coast. A friend hiked the trail through the mountains that I think runs from Canada to Mexico. Great story and beautiful picture. I miss the CA coast!

    Reply

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