“At The Edge” — A jumble of Monterey cypress trees at the edge of a Point Lobos cliff.
This is the final photograph in a series of images I made on a morning visit to Point Lobos near the end of September. As I approached the park I drove in thick fog, and I was already contemplating potential subjects to photograph in hose conditions. But in the final mile of my drive the fog began to lift, and sunlight shone through the gaps in the dissipating fog. I reevaluated, picked an area with other visual interests, and thought about how I might use the remaining fog-softened light with these subjects.
“Monterey Cypress Forest, Leaning Trees” — Monterey Cypress trees at the edge of a Point Lobos cliff on a foggy morning.
These trees grow along one of the most exposed coastal locations at Point Lobos State Reserve. Not far behind my camera position s the rugged end of a peninsula that juts out into the Pacific, exposed to waves and wind. In the other direction, beyond these trees, is a cliff that drops to a rocky, narrow bay that where surf constantly washes in and out.
“Monterey Cypress Forest” — Fog drifts across a Point Lobos landscape of Monterey cypress trees.
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.
“Old Cypress” — An old Monterey cypress tree at Point Lobos, California.
The Monterey cypress trees at Point Lobos are rugged and diverse specimens. This is no forest of uniform Sierra Nevada trees. Each tree seems to have its own personality, formed by its exposure to light, proximity to cliffs, age, and the wind. Aside from the fact that they often grow in groves, many of them remind me of the stunted and twisted trees found at timberline in the highest mountains.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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