Sandy Point State Park
Sandy Point State Park is a public park located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, at the foot of the Bay Bridge, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, near Annapolis. The park is located at a former landing site for the Claiborne-Annapolis Ferry Company. The park is open year-round, and plays host to a number of outdoor activities. Boating and fishing occurs year-round, and the park is a popular site for beachgoers during warmer months. In addition, the park plays host to the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge each year in late January, and hosts the Lights on the Bay lighting display in December of each year.
Prior to this visit, I had been to Sandy Point State Park to photograph the polar bear plunge in 2010 and in 2011, and I had been there on several occasions to swim and enjoy the beach. On this particular occasion, February 9, 2013, I was out to photograph the park itself. While I had done photography here before, the photos had always been during events or during the peak season for beach use. My goal this time was to focus on the park itself – thus why I made the visit during winter. In winter, outside of any special event, I knew that very few people would be visiting the park.
This photo set was also a test of new photographic equipment that I had purchased earlier in the year. After doing some research about the effects of filters on photographs, I bought set of filters (ultraviolet, fluorescent, neutral density, and polarizing) and a filter adaptor for my existing camera in January. While I had tested the new filters in short test shoots earlier, this was my first “real” photo shoot using a filter. Sandy Point seemed perfect for the polarizer.
In doing the photo shoot, I started from the normal access to the park for most beachgoers, on South Beach, and went straight towards the water. I then proceeded east, and followed the edge of the water around, past rock jetties of varying sizes, to the northern end of East Beach. Along the way, I photographed many sights, including the water, the Bay Bridge, waves, Sandy Point Shoal Light, some people, birds, signs, debris, and anything else that I could photograph. Reaching the northeastern end of the park, I turned around and retraced my steps back towards South Beach, until I reached the jetty at the southwestern end of the park, next to the entrance to Mezick Ponds, which separates Sandy Point State Park from the Bay Bridge.
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