Autumn Surf and Fog, Big Sur Coast. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Big waves from a distant Pacific storm pound the rugged Big Sur coast.
Two things led us to make a quick trip down to the Big Sur coast this week. First, weather reports were predicting unusually large surf, generated by a distant storm to the north in the Pacific. Second, additional pandemic lockdowns are about to be instituted here, starting on Sunday — so we felt like this might be our last opportunity to make a drive like this one for a month or more. Since we’ve spent so much of our time during the past months on our own property or, at most, within walking distance of our home, the chance to get out and look at long views was therapeutic. (It was also pretty safe, since didn’t stop for food or anything else — though passing our favorite Big Sur bakery wasn’t easy.)
This is a location I’ve photographed quite a few times in the past. These days I usually don’t stop there to photograph, though I may stop briefly just to enjoy the scene. I’ve seen it in special conditions, so there’s really no need to make another sunny day photograph there. As we approached this time, again I had no thoughts of stopping — but they I saw this backlit spray/fog thrown up by the wild surf and almost obscuring the view of the distant bridge. Believe it or not, this is a color photograph! The brilliant backlight and the mist and fog drained almost all of the color from the scene.
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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