Behind the Image: Waves at Monument Point

Standing above Monument Point, in Laguna Beach, I watched surfers carry their boards down the long staircase and carefully navigate the rocks before paddling out into the Pacific. Their route caught my attention.

Why were they choosing that path? What did the coastline look like from their perspective?

Curiosity has a way of influencing how I photograph. Often, the strongest images come not from arriving at a location with a fixed plan, but from noticing something unexpected and following it.

So, I headed down the stairs.

What I discovered below transformed the photograph completely.

Curiosity Led Me Down the Stairs

From the bluff above, I had been photographing the primary rock formation rising from the water. Smaller rocks and stepping stones provided foreground interest, but the scene felt incomplete. Watching the surfers make their way down the staircase and across the rocks made me wonder what they were seeing from sea level.

Watching surfers carry their boards down these stairs at Monument Point made me curious about what the scene looked like from sea level — and that curiosity led to the final image.

As soon as I reached the bottom, the scene changed.

Looking north, the coastline opened into a sweeping crescent-shaped bay. Waves rolled through the channel between the rocks, creating constant movement and energy. My first instinct was to photograph from a standing position, elevating the camera high enough to see over the foreground rocks and include more of the shoreline and ocean.

The composition worked well enough, but as I reviewed the images, I noticed something I had not expected.

The rocks I had been trying to avoid were actually the most compelling part of the scene. Their weathered textures, irregular shapes, and placement within the frame created a sense of depth that was missing from my earlier compositions. Instead of treating them as an obstacle, I began using them as the foundation of the image.

That decision changed everything.

I lowered my perspective, allowed the rocks to anchor the foreground, and waited for the waves to provide the final element: motion.

The first crashing wave was close to what I envisioned, but the spray was too powerful. It obscured portions of the rock formation and hid details I wanted to preserve.

So I stayed with the scene and waited.

Refining the Composition

As I experimented with different viewpoints, one foreground rock continued to draw my attention.

Unlike the smoother stones surrounding it, this larger rock carried years of weathering on its surface. Its texture and shape gave the composition a natural focal point while still allowing the eye to travel through the frame toward the larger rock formation and open ocean beyond.

The smoother rocks still played an important role.

Together, the contrast between rough and polished surfaces created visual balance and helped guide the viewer through the scene. Every element began working together, but something was still missing.

The photograph needed movement.

It had texture. It had depth. It had atmosphere.

What it needed was the energy that defines the Laguna coastline.

So I waited for the right wave. Not the biggest wave, but the one that would move through the rocks without overwhelming them. The challenge was finding a moment where water, light, texture, and timing all worked together in harmony.

That patience became the difference between documenting a location and creating an image that conveyed the experience of being there.

When the wave finally broke in exactly the right place, it added the missing ingredient. Water surged through the rocks, bringing motion and energy into the frame while preserving the textures and details that had drawn me to the scene in the first place.

The image finally felt complete. That became the image I think of as Waves at Monument Point.

Why This Image Stays With Me

I have photographed at Monument Point many times.

Over the years, I have photographed surfers navigating the lineup, large winter swells rolling through the bay, and waves exploding against the rocky shoreline. Those are photographs I continue to enjoy making, and they are part of what draws me back to this stretch of coast.

This image is different.

It captures the type of coastal energy I am always looking for, frozen at 1/1250 second, but it also represents a combination of circumstances that I have never been able to easily recreate.

Since making this photograph, high surf conditions have often limited access to the area north of the staircase whenever I have returned with my camera. The opportunity that existed on this particular day simply has not presented itself in quite the same way again.

That is one of the lessons photography continues to teach me.

No location is ever truly the same twice.

Light changes. Tides change. Swell direction changes. Weather changes. Even access to a scene can change from one visit to the next. Familiar places continually offer new possibilities, but only if we remain willing to explore, adapt, and look beyond the obvious viewpoint.

For me, this photograph is more than a wave breaking at Monument Point.

It is a reminder that curiosity often leads to better images. Sometimes the best photograph is not where you first stop. It is found after taking a few more steps, exploring a different perspective, and staying with the scene long enough for the picture to reveal itself.

Laguna Beach Coast Photography Workshop

The decisions that shaped this image are the same principles we explore during the Laguna Beach Coastal Photography Workshop.

Along the coastline of Heisler Park, Monument Point, Rockpile Beach, and nearby locations, we work through the art of seeing a scene more intentionally. You will learn how perspective, foreground elements, timing, light, and movement can transform an ordinary composition into a more compelling photograph.

Rather than simply moving from one scene to the next, we focus on slowing down, observing carefully, and learning how to recognize the visual possibilities that exist beyond the obvious shot.

Whether you are photographing waves crashing along the shoreline, surfers working through the lineup, or intimate details hidden among the rocks, Laguna Beach offers endless opportunities to strengthen both your technical skills and your creative vision.

Discover the Laguna Beach Coastal Photography Workshop and upcoming dates.