Winter Sky, Big Sur Coast

Winter Sky, Big Sur Coast
Winter storm clouds, fog, and light along the Big Sur Coast of California

Winter Sky, Big Sur Coast. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter storm clouds, fog, and light along the Big Sur Coast of California.

The right kind of summer day along the Big Sur coast of Central California can be beautiful in every way. Imagine a morning with a bit of fog, mid-morning clearing, then brilliant sunshine and comfortably warm (sometimes even hot) temperatures, with a fog bank appearing offshore close to sunset. The ocean would likely be calm and — this is critical — you would probably stop along the way more than once, for coffee, for lunch, and perhaps for dinner.

As lovely as that sounds, it is my least favorite season along this coast. I prefer the changing and sometimes moody conditions of winter. The surf may rise to 30 feet or higher, storms may threaten to (or actually) close the main road, winds sweep across the tall headlands, whales pass close to the shore, and clearing weather may bring towering clouds. I made this photograph on the first day of March, when another Pacific weather front was just arriving, using a wide angle lens to include the sky above a bit of the headlands landscape.


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.

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2 thoughts on “Winter Sky, Big Sur Coast”

  1. Lovely picture and I agree with you about the drama of winter being much more interesting!

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