
I've photographed the SS Palo Alto many times over the years but returned late yesterday as an approaching storm was about to hit the central coast of California. This time I added a Singh-Ray 15 stop Mor-Slo ND filter, which allowed for a long 8 1/2 minute exposure to give the water and moving clouds a mysterious feel.
During the final two minutes of this exposure the rain hit and I held an umbrella over my camera/lens. A woman walking along the beach looked at me quizzically and asked, "Why are you taking a picture, it's raining?" (Just goes to show just how stupid us photographers are!)
A BIT OF HISTORY: The SS Palo Alto was a concrete ship built as a tanker at the end of World War I. She was built by the San Francisco Shipbuilding Company at the U.S. Naval Shipyard in Oakland, California. She was launched on May 29, 1919, too late to see service in the war.
Eventually the ship was mothballed in Oakland until 1929, when she was bought by the Seacliff Amusement Corporation and towed to Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California. A pier was built leading to the ship, and she was sunk in a few feet in the water so that her keel rested on the bottom. There she was refitted as an amusement ship, with amenities including a dance floor, a swimming pool and a cafe.
Today, sadly, the ship has broken into four pieces from the relentless pounding of the surf. Eventually the sea will take what's left.
I have many memories as a child fishing off both this ship and pier with my dad!
Ghost Ship, SS Palo Alto, Seacliffe State Beach, Aptos, California
#Sonya7RII, #Sony70_200mm, f/11, 8.5 minutes, ISO 200, #SinghRay15StopMorSlo
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