Land’s End, December Mist. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
December fog and light along the Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur.
This was a wild and unusual early-December morning along the Big Sur coast. I drove down early on a crisp and clear morning, having heard that the surf might by quite large. Below Carmel I began to see the evidence — first the low coastal fog that rises above the surf on such mornings and soon the actual waves. I continued south, stopping at various points along the way to photograph into the fog and the raging surf.
This kind of fog has several special characteristics. When the sun is behind it, as it is in the morning along this section of the coastline, the hazy atmosphere glows magically. The intensity of this glow, combined with the opacity of fog, drains the colors from the scene, and in places the world looks almost monochromatic. This fog, being thin, still allows fairly long views, though most of the fine details of the landscape are invisible, leaving the larger features to become more apparent. In this location the Pacific Coast Highway runs precipitously along the edge of steep cliffs over the ocean, and the rugged coastline breaks apart into cliffs and sea stacks.
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
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