A photographer finds an endless supply of inspiration across the ‘three magical miles of Monterey Bay.’

Erik Chalhoub here. Every day, the staff of the Weekly gets to see a new angle of Monterey County, and it’s not just from the people we interview. We receive daily photo submissions from readers for the ETC. section, showing off the beauty of the county, from the vast ocean on the Peninsula side to the fields of the Salinas Valley, and the animals and humans that live here.

One of the most frequent contributors is Maurice Druzin of Monterey, whose photos have graced many editions of this newsletter and the Weekly for the past two years.

Druzin, a retired OB-GYN of three-plus-decades at Stanford who lives near Cannery Row, frequently walks what he calls the “three magical miles of Monterey Bay,” from Point Pinos in Pacific Grove to Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey.

“There’s just so much to see there,” he says. “It’s just such a rich environment for birds, for marine mammals and for some people-watching too.”

Druzin adds that he never goes on the walk without his Olympus OM-1 camera in hand, and either a zoom or macro lens, depending on what type of photos he plans on taking. But that’s the extent of his planning, as he takes photos of whatever he encounters—nothing is staged.

Plenty of photos come to mind when he’s asked about his favorites. Among those is the photo of the throngs of sea lions that took over San Carlos Beach earlier this year, with the mammals “packed like sardines.” Druzin says he walked back and forth, trying to find the perfect angle, when one of the sea lions stood up in the crowd, providing the perfect focal point for the shot.

Druzin is also fond of his photo of the runners in the Monterey Bay Half Marathon charging through Cannery Row in November. The scene, with cannery signage visible throughout, evokes childhood memories.

Druzin, who was born and raised in South Africa, says he didn’t have television growing up, so he was a voracious reader, especially of his favorite author, John Steinbeck.

“I said if I ever made it to the States, I was going to Cannery Row,” he says. “Now, I live right above Cannery Row. It’s a dream come true. That photo just encapsulated the whole John Steinbeck experience for me.”

Druzin is in the process of creating jigsaw puzzles and calendars of his photos for his grandchildren. He adds that he enjoys seeing the photos submitted by other readers.

“I’m amazed by the beautiful and creative pictures they get,” he says.

As 2025 comes to a close, check out some of the best shots readers such as yourself have taken over the year. 

Thank you to everyone who has submitted photos. Keep them coming in 2026.