Pacific Horizon, Weather Front. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cloud shadows on the surface of the Pacific Ocean as an incoming storm front darkens the skies above the horizon.

This is a familiar scene to me, as I’ve have been visiting this section of the California coast for decades. The location is along the Big Sur coast, though it could be any number of places where it is possible to get up high and find an open view toward the horizon and the sun. On this day there was a thin overcast from the leading edge of an incoming Pacific weather system, and it did a fine job of casting shadows on the water and muting the brightest reflections.

For me these scenes always encourage a certain kind of stillness and thoughtfulness. As a person who has spent next-to-no time on the ocean, looking across these immense distances toward the horizon causes me to ponder the scale of the Pacific Ocean. Lower down at the waters edge, my attention goes to sand and surf and rocks — but up higher it extends much further outward.

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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Two Trees, Big Sur River. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The trunks of two trees lean outwards over the Big Sur River.

My typical route down the Big Sur coast when I head out for a day of photography there takes has me primarily focusing on the coast itself — the headlands, bluffs, cliffs, beaches, sea stacks, and surf found along the Pacific Coast Highway. Partway down, perhaps a half hour or so below Carmel, the road jogs inland and follows the Big Sur River for a bit before rising over a saddle and starting a long descent back towards the ocean. I generally don’t do a lot of photography along this inland section… though I do know a few good places to stop for snacks, meals, and espresso!

This visit was a bit different. The light and atmosphere along the coast were affected by an incoming Pacific weather system. There was quite a bit of haze, and the light was interrupted by high clouds. Those conditions are typically less conducive to shooting “big landscapes,” but they can be very wonderful for photographing on a smaller scale, especially in forested areas where the light would otherwise be too contrasty. So I pulled off the road along the Big Sur River, walked a few feed down and embankment, and found a lovely and quiet section of the river when the water flowed smoothly over rocks and trees leaned over the river.

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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Headlands, Incoming Autumn Storm. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An incoming Pacific weather front darkens the skies above Big Sur coastline headlands.

This location is both a rather famous one (or, perhaps more accurately, right beneath a famous one) and typical of many of the more dramatic sections of the California coastline. I am very fortunate to have been brought up close to the center of this geography, and I can head north or south to find many such places where the ocean and the land meet in such an impressive fashion. Here the Pacific runs right up against coastal cliffs rising to headlands, with narrow beaches and rocks marking the margins of the continent.

In most cases I might try to photograph this scene in different sorts of light — perhaps the bright early morning (when the cliffs are still in shadow), the evening when sunset light hits the coast directly from the west, or in dramatic fog or clouds. But those conditions were not to be seen on this late-autumn day when an incoming Pacific weather front was covering the sky in a thin shield of clouds. In my view, these conditions also bring a special sort of light, with the diffusive effect of the clouds revealing subtler color and filling in and lighting areas that would otherwise be in shadow.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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