Searching for good light in the summer months can be difficult.  Summer's harsh direct sunlight brings extreme contrast situations that cameras do not handle well.  Your bright spots "blow out" to featureless white and your shadows drop to featureless black.

Shooting around sunrise and sunset are good options but even that can be difficult.  Sunrise is around 5:30 am and sunset is around 8:30 pm.  It takes some planning, especially around when to sleep and what to do with the long hours in between.

I went out shooting last night in the valley of the San Benito River near Pinnacles National Monument.  The light was quite harsh during the day and there was not a cloud in the sky to diffuse it.  I chose this area because of the fact that there is a lot of agricultural activity in the Salinas Valley to the west.  This means a lot of dust and dirt in the sky.  Perhaps not the prettiest thing to see during the day but a great diffuser towards evening.  The result is a relatively long sunset with great golden light.