Pacific Coastline, Winter Haze. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Gentle winter haze along California’s Pacific Ocean coastline south of Monterey

I have visited this coast for decades, since my parents moved to California from the Midwest when I was four-years-old. Back then we took lots of family “day trips,” and the Monterey Peninsula and Point Lobos areas were often our goals, and I became familiar with the Coast Highway Pacific Ocean interface at a young age. There was perhaps a gap when I was in college, but when our kids were old enough we headed down this way from time to time, too.

There are a few constants here: the headland cliffs plunging into the Pacific, the twisting and turning route of the highway, the little places to stop and grab a bite to eat, the long views over the ocean and up and down the coast. But other things are rarely the same twice. The light is constantly changing, from morning to evening, from winter to summer, from clear air to fog. I would most typically photograph early or late, but on this winter day there was interesting light and atmosphere right into the middle of the day when I made this photograph, looking south along the coastline as the haze gradually obscured distant hills and the sunlight’s reflection turned the oceans distant surface a brilliant white.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.