Thursday, January 15, 2015

What's Around the Corner??

I'm picking up the theme from my last post. As a refresh, I posted on San Onofre State Beach. It's a beautiful, isolated beach that has a strong feel of "old California" (think "surfing safari" and Gidget movies... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s1oT_GLB70) and how beaches looked prior to the building and population explosion that has left most of S. CA crowded and over-built... but I digress.

 Probably a little anticlimactic for the locales (because they all know this already!), but as you head down this beautiful stretch of coastline, you suddenly see (drum roll please)... the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. It's a strange feeling coming upon such a huge, intimidating structure in an otherwise secluded stretch of beach.
This nuclear plant is now decommissioned due to "premature wear" in steam generators that were less than five years old. A very controversial topic is "Who is responsible?" and how much should taxpayers (me) and electricity purchasers (me again) have to pay for this mishap??  Sorry, I digress again...
Does this qualify as a fence??  Perhaps more of a barricade!
These signs were posted up and down the power plant area. Since the plant has been shut down for a while, I figured nobody would much care about a guy wandering up and down the beach taking pictures. Wrong again! Shortly after taking this photo, I heard a loudspeaker: "You on the beach... no photography allowed. Please leave the beach immediately". Evidently big brother is watching!! I figured I better do as I was told, so starting hiking back in the direction I came. But not before taking a couple more photos!

I was really fortunate to have some dramatic skies on the day I took these shots.
Linking with Skywatch Friday and Good Fences.  Thanks for stopping by!
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41 comments:

  1. CloudiaJanuary 15, 2015 at 9:09 PM

    Spectacular final shot!

    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    <3

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  2. JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes)January 15, 2015 at 9:42 PM

    Wow - fabulous shots. Kinda creepy that the defunct power plant is right on the beach - and even creepier that someone is watching everyone who comes near. I 'd ask what they were hiding - but we already know that The photos are amazing.

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  3. DeniseinVAJanuary 15, 2015 at 9:45 PM

    These images are beyond outstanding. I can't get over how beautiful those skies are and you have actually made the old power plant into a work of art.

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  4. JoyfulJanuary 15, 2015 at 10:02 PM

    Awesome! I've told you before that your photos look like paintings.

    I'm curious if these pics are straight out of the camera (I'm certain you are that talented ;-) or if you do some special technique.

    Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. Spare Parts and PicsJanuary 17, 2015 at 7:56 PM

      Thanks so much! Yes, I did a little post-processing on these. I've been using Nik (here's the link if you're interested: https://www.google.com/nikcollection/). It's a group of software programs, and they are quite good. For sky shots I use "HDR Pro".

      Delete
    2. JoyfulJanuary 23, 2015 at 4:50 AM

      Thanks so much! Some day I'd like to get into the photography a little deeper than I've been doing. I appreciate the link.

      Delete
  5. ak_utJanuary 15, 2015 at 10:30 PM

    very interesting and dramatic shots, too! nearby my place (10km) but on the french side is also a nuke (fessenheim), very very old but still at work...maybe in 2017 it will be shorted...german and french people always demonstrating to switch it off earlier.
    i love the last one :-)

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  6. Billy Blue EyesJanuary 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM

    Wow those are some drmatic looking clouds. Thought the sign said you could walk past and nothing about not takeing photos. We have a couple of decommisioned reactors next to where I work and I have photos of them but I've not seen the high secuity of the past we used to have. It's one of the only places in the UK you see the police wear guns.

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  7. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2015 at 12:52 AM

    Spectacular shots.

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  8. AndyJanuary 16, 2015 at 1:50 AM

    Super photos. I live close to a active nuke plant. So far no one said anything to me about photographing the site.

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  9. s.cJanuary 16, 2015 at 2:04 AM

    Real great shots. Since the tsunami in Japan I wonder if a place for a reactor along the cost is such a good idea at all.The sky is also breathtaking.

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  10. Yogi♪♪♪January 16, 2015 at 4:10 AM

    The loudspeaker thing is kind of creepy. There is a Corps of Engineers dam here with a walkway. I've been told they don't want you on the dam taking pics. For a dam that was built in the 50's? Get real.

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  11. Penelope PostcardsJanuary 16, 2015 at 4:34 AM

    The location and state of the plant seems shocking, especially in such a beautiful place under such a dazzling sky.

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  12. Bob ScotneyJanuary 16, 2015 at 5:47 AM

    Seaside locations seem to be ideal for nuclear reactors - until something goes wrong. You have a set of powerful photographs here..

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  13. TexWisGirlJanuary 16, 2015 at 6:16 AM

    well, glad they're at least watching over their blunder! impressive photos. eerie, too. thanks for linking!

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  14. Linda KayJanuary 16, 2015 at 6:32 AM

    Such dramatic pictures of the water and the sky. Awesome!

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  15. John's IslandJanuary 16, 2015 at 10:48 AM

    Nice work on the photos! Interesting that they don't want photos taken of the abandoned plant. Hmmmm Glad you got some shots for us. Have a good weekend.

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  16. fredamansJanuary 16, 2015 at 10:53 AM

    Funny they were still there to chase you away... lol... powerful images though!

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  17. NatureFootstepJanuary 16, 2015 at 11:31 AM

    gave me a weird feeling. Strange!

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  18. SusanJanuary 16, 2015 at 12:24 PM

    Caught! Hehe! Beautiful pictures!

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  19. From The HeartJanuary 16, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    Great pictures...the clouds were amazing.Especially the last one!

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  20. Connie SmileyJanuary 16, 2015 at 6:03 PM

    Such beautiful skies, and a strong contrast with the rest of the scene.

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  21. LizJanuary 16, 2015 at 10:37 PM

    I love those dramatic looking clouds. The loudspeaker story is a little creepy!

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  22. eileeninmdJanuary 17, 2015 at 2:34 AM

    Gorgeous sky photos.. And what a crazy story, I guess the place is not totally abandoned. Have a happy weekend!

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  23. aspiritofsimplicityJanuary 17, 2015 at 4:30 AM

    Wow! Great photos! I imagine you can venture a guess as to who is paying for the PA system and the man behind the curtain telling you not to take pictures of the nuclear plant you are paying for....

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  24. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:13 AM

    Ha! It doesn't surprise me that they jumped on you for being there. I remember driving by there when I lived in Long Beach. That was 27 years ago.

    There going to shut down a power plant here in New England. They tell me that it is going to take 60 years.

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  25. AlJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:50 AM

    This post (and the previous one) show a beautiful part of California - you certainly had perfect skies. And that's quite the Big Brother experience!

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  26. Small City ScenesJanuary 17, 2015 at 11:03 AM

    Excellent beach shots. A wonderful place until you happen upon the Nuke Plant. I wonder why it was built on a beach in the first place---seems dangerous to me. What a boring job being a watchperson in a dead Nuclear plant.
    Love the dramatic sky though. MB

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  27. verfuchstundzugenähtJanuary 18, 2015 at 10:51 AM

    A Nuclear Power Plant scares me always. In Austria we don´t use this energy. What a grat dramatic sky in this scene! I´m realy impessed!

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  28. John "By Stargoose And Hanglands"January 18, 2015 at 10:39 PM

    I remember when I was a youngster hearing that nuclear power plants would not need decommissioning till 2000. It seemed an age away so no need to worry. Unfortunately our politicians had the same limited vision.

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  29. Sallie (FullTime-Life)January 19, 2015 at 7:26 AM

    Beautiful sky bad beach except for ... Thank you for sharing the illicit pics .. I hope we don't have to come visit you in jail. Seriously, this is a scary in more ways than one.

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  30. Sallie (FullTime-Life)January 19, 2015 at 7:26 AM

    Oh that was supposed to say 'and beach' not bad. I hate my IPad sometimes.

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  31. Liz Rice-SosneJanuary 20, 2015 at 11:18 AM

    At once frightening and beautiful!

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  32. Gail DixonJanuary 20, 2015 at 7:17 PM

    Oh my gosh, I would've jumped out of my skin to be yelled at over a loudspeaker. Glad you got the shots and didn't get in trouble. The drama of those skies are simply amazing. Beautiful photography!

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  33. Thomas LeeJanuary 21, 2015 at 7:07 PM

    Dramatic shots,i wouldn't go too near as there might be radioactive leakages while decommissioning work is going on.

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  34. LindaJanuary 21, 2015 at 9:33 PM

    They're great photos! Perhaps the announcement was made by a robot.

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  35. Kovács MiklósJanuary 22, 2015 at 2:06 PM

    Hahaha, what a great photo adventure :D Yeah, the Big Brother is everywhere. Nice captures and I very liked dramatic clouds too! Cheers, Miklos

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  36. trav4adventuresJanuary 23, 2015 at 2:03 AM

    Gosh, and how many times have we driven by there? We've never stopped. Isn't it Marine Corps. property near there?

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  37. Indah Nuria SavitriJanuary 24, 2015 at 5:49 PM

    dramatic skies indeed...love them! And the nuclear plant has this eerie ambience...

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  38. Pat TillettFebruary 3, 2015 at 8:47 PM

    Great photos! Very surreal looking.
    I live in the first evacuation zone and have always been very aware of it's presence. Much more so since the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

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  39. JarekFebruary 6, 2015 at 1:15 AM

    Great and dramatic skies!

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