I used to live in Eureka, California. It’s a relatively small city about five hours north of San Francisco on the Pacific coast, surrounded by redwood forests and blanketed in fog almost daily. This is where my wife and I found Stella, our beloved rescue dog who unexpectedly fell ill and passed away nearly a year ago.

The city of Eureka extends to Humboldt Bay, and a quick drive over a bridge gets you to a teeny little town called Samoa which is pretty much a few houses clustered around the intersection of the bridge and the peninsula’s road. The rest of the peninsula is all beach, with an official recreation area at the southern tip.

We used to take our dogs to Samoa Beach frequently, like many Eureka residents. This photo is at least eight years old so I’m not entirely sure what equipment I was using at the time, but I suspect it was my Nikon D50 and the stock 18-55mm lens that came with it.

“Dogs on Beach” by Marshall Stokes, 2008. Taken near Samoa, CA

I wish I knew more about this photo, as it’s always been one of my favorites from the period when I was first becoming interested in DSLR photography. I hope you enjoy the image 🙂

Equipment & Settings

• Nikon D50
• ISO unknown
• Exposure Time unknown
• f-number unknown