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RETURNING HOME

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAVAN HADLEY

As a real estate photographer based in Morro Bay, Cavan Hadley is often found hanging halfway out of a helicopter shooting a variety of different properties, including the occasional mega yacht anchored away in some exotic international mooring. But, last December his travel schedule slowed down just enough for him to charter a flight and have some fun in his own backyard.

The whirlybird circled Morro Rock several times as Hadley snapped away with a fast shutter speed on his Canon 6D, which was fitted with a 16-35mm wide-angle lens. He was not sure what he had captured until he sat down at his computer to view the photos the next day. Staring back at him on his screen was the image you see here, an unusual perspective of the most iconic landmark on the Central Coast.

Much has been said and written of the “Gibraltar of the Pacific,” but to Hadley, who had been a sailor for 24 years, it is a safe haven and the only harbor between Santa Barbara and Monterey. “If you ever find yourself lost out there,” Hadley points toward the horizon, “or caught in a gale [heavy storm], Morro Rock is the first thing that will turn up on a radar and the first thing you will see through the fog on your way back home.” SLO LIFE