This grove of leaning and twisted trees lines the upper edge of a steep, rocky Point Lobos cliff that drops straight to a small bay. You can see the beginning of the slope in the photograph, but if you walked past the trees in this scene you would seen be at the precipice. I made the photograph in one of my favorite light conditions. It had been foggy — the thick, gray kind of fog — but now it was thinning and opening up to let in soft, filtered sunlight. The fog still partially obscures the more distant trees on the far side of the little bay.
I had two humorous experiences while setting up this photograph. Nearby a group of park volunteers was hard at work digging up an invasive, non-native grass that was taking hold and interfering with the growth of young Monterey cypresses. A woman in the group, thinking that I might be a first time visitor began to share basic information about the Reserve with me… until I politely mentioned how many decades I had been visiting. We both laughed. Then, as I was set up and working out my composition, passing hikers seemed quite perplexed by what the heck I was photographing!
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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
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