Wake Boards and Oil Rigs

It's been a while since I've decided to do a sunset shoot. Really.

I went down to the far northern end of Manhattan Beach. It's an interesting locale. It's close to LAX, so it's interesting to see the airplanes taking off so close. Just another mile up the stretch of sand, and I would be right underneath the take-off paths of massive jets. The section of beach from this point up to Venice is for the most part fairly desolate. Not a lot of surf activity. Not much of a family-friendly place, as deafening jets fly only a few hundred yards above. This is the borderline where the touristy part of Manhattan Beach ends, and the more secluded section begins. They still have lifeguard posts, and still extend their patrols up there, but mostly because as a State beach, they're required by law to do so. However, it's like working a service station on the moon. Very rarely do any families go down there, with exception to a lowly trailer park that advertises cheap rental space right on the brim of the beach.

That's true, yes. The trailers are within spitting distance of the beach. You can barbeque and build sandcastles from the comfort of your own RV. However, as mentioned before, this plot of land is just a quarter mile away from the edge of LAX, and every five minutes the scenery erupts into a flurry of sonic excitement. A potent roar echoes off every grain of sand, reverberating the tiny morsels of the beach at your feet. Not to mention that the Hyperion sewage treatment plant runs aground with the ocean at this point, too, as does the Exxon petroleum processing plant. Oh, and the gas power station.

It's a bit of an odd sight, really. From Manhattan Beach pier, you can see a flurry of tourists, and people who have come from all over Southern California to indulge in the calm beach atmosphere that only Manhattan Beach can provide. But from the same vantage point can be seen the heavy industrial sect of El Segundo. At night it's very easy to see the towering columns of fire from the refineries as they burn off excess whatever it is they burn. The border between Manhattan Beach the tourist trap and Manhattan Beach the wasteland is very narrow. However, this photo shoot was taken in this razor-thin boundary. It is where you can still see people flocking to the beaches, but it is where the signs of industry and oil production are most visible alongside them. Everything beyond this, the remaining northern three miles of the beach sand, doesn't even seem to have a name. It isn't Manhattan Beach. It isn't Venice Beach. It's not Playa Del Rey, nor is it even called El Segundo Beach.

It just kind of is. A no-man's land. With lifeguards. And a trailer park.