Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coastline. Pacific Coast Highway, California. May 13, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Sea stacks line the rugged California Big Sur coastline below the Pacific Coast Highway.
I had some free time on Friday morning, so I decided to head over to the coast below Monterey. I had some discussions with someone earlier this week about photographs featuring coastal fog and hills, and I think that may be what planted the idea in my mind, though it turned out that conditions were not quite ideal for that particular sort of thing. However, it was a beautiful spring morning along the Big Sur coast, with the bright sun somewhat modulated by some atmospheric haze and a bit of fog here and there along ridge tops.
For those who may not have heard, driving this section of the Coast Highway is a bit tricky right now due to washouts and closures. I had to wait for a pilot vehicle to lead scores of us through one large section, and in another spot the road was reduced to a single lane by a large landslide. I understand that further south the road is actually closed completely, necessitating an inland detour.
The unusual traffic situation did create one advantage for me, however. Usually there is enough traffic on this famous route that driving along at very slow speeds annoys other drivers – so I sometimes have to keep going right past places I might otherwise want to stop and investigate. However, yesterday I quickly figured out that with 20-30 minutes between waves of traffic as the road opened and closed, all I had to do was pull over after passing one of the blockages, wait for the other cars to pass, and then drive in a more leisurely way with plenty of opportunities to stop.
So as I drove past this area that I had not really looked at closely in the past – it is between a couple of other spots that I know well – I was able to drive slowly, pull over to look more carefully, backtrack, and generally get to see it more than in the past. I first pulled off near this spot simply to turn around to go back and check a spot I had just passed. As I did so I noticed a painter packing up his gear. I did my “turn around,” looked at the spot I had passed, decided it wasn’t promising after all… and came right back to the spot where I had seen the painter. A short trail led down to the edge of the bluff and provided this view along the coast to the south.
G Dan Mitchell Photography | Flickr | Twitter (follow me) | Facebook (“Like” my page) | LinkedIn | Email
Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
Tom, the Bixby closure has now simply become a short one-lane section with automatic traffic lights at either end. It probably only creates a delay of a minute or two.
David, good for you for noticing that this was shot with a 50mm prime! When I walked up to the scene, I did what I frequently do – having the 24-105 on the camera I framed up a composition and then checked to see what the FL was. I was actually a bit surprised to see that it was 50mm!
Dan
Dan… spectacular view presented wonderfully… it brings back fond memories of an awesome summer visit to this part of the world a few years back. A little while ago I loaned my wider angle lens to a friend and was “forced” to use my 50mm lens. On a quick trip to Acadia I was pleasantly surprised with the perspective offered, and your post reminds me to always be willing to try different things.
So I take it that the closure just north of Bixby bridge is gone. I have kind of assumed that, but it is good to know for certain.
I am planning to head down there next week while my brother is in town and shoot condors.