Tag Archives: one

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Rocky Shoreline, Fog, Big Sur

July 5, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Steep cliffs fall to the edge of the Pacific Ocean along the fog-shrouded Big Sur coastline

I left very early on this Fourth of July morning, while the streets were still nearly empty near my home, and headed south towards Monterey and the Big Sur coast. I watch weather forecasts carefully before going there this time of year. The most likely conditions are not my favorites for photography — either socked in with coastal for or else blue-sky clear. I’m looking for something in between in the summer, which ideally means that there is still some fog around but that the sun is poking through along the edges. The forecast today was one of those that is peculiar to California, with fog hugging the coast early but breaking up by midday and the temperatures in the inland areas, which are sometimes only a few miles from the foggy areas, rising into the nineties. Hoping to find that sun/fog boundary, I was willing to chance the holiday traffic, though I figured I might beat the worst of it by going there before “normal people” were awake, and then by returning at about the time the crowds would show up.

I hit fog in the Salinas Valley, which meant that the fog on the coast was likely to be a bit more obstinate about leaving than I had hoped. In fact, there was a low deck of fog perhaps only a few hundred feet above the ocean, with misty atmosphere below. This is not easy light to photograph, at least not for me, but I found a few places like this one where I could get a clear view of nearby subjects and include more distant subjects disappearing into the fog. I walked out on the bluff to find this spot, set up, and noticed that the fog was in motion, so I decided to wait, eventually spending perhaps 20 minutes waiting and watching for moments like this when the fog thinned just enough to barely reveal the further rocks and coast.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Sur Lighthouse

June 10, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The lighthouse at Point Sur, Big Sur Coast

We are now very close to summer, the time of year when, frankly, the Pacific Coast can be somewhat less exciting from a photographic perspective. From my point of view, winter is the time to visit and the time to photograph. In a typical year (and this was not a typical year) a pattern repeats for several month. Big Pacific storms roll through, building giant surf, bringing rain, and then clearing. In the wake of the storms there may be a series of sunny days—sometimes warmer than summer here!—that are broken by beautiful clouds. The light is often spectacular, ranging from the brilliant light of clear weather to the moody light when the atmosphere is filled with moisture.

Near the end of this past January we travelled down this coast, on one of those “typical winter days” when there was plenty of bright sun, but also mist and spray thrown up by the ocean. This location is iconic along this section of the Pacific Coast Highway. Near the outlet of the Little Sur River, this “almost island” of Point Sur stands at the end of a strand of beach extending out into the ocean, and a historic lighthouse stands on top of the hill. Descending toward this point from the north, the view extends right along the rugged shoreline and beach just north of the Point.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Pacific Coast Highway, Clearing Fog

May 30, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning fog clears above Rocky Point along the Pacific Coast Highway near Big Sur, California

I spent a good part of this beautiful spring day photographing along the upper half of California’ Big Sur coastline along the Pacific Coast Highway. On this potentially (and ultimately!) very busy holiday, I made a point of arriving early, since this area is so popular, especially on a day like this one when it was mostly sunny but with just enough fog to make it picturesque.

This photograph includes the area around Rocky Point which, while not being the main iconic view in this spot perhaps does come close to having that distinction. From the small arch in the foreground to the curving coast and seas stacks to the taller coastal mountains, the scene has many of the features that define this coastline. The fog was trying valiantly to maintain itself—driving into it the temperature dropped by many degrees and the wind whipped up—but the sun was winning.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point

May 29, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light begins to shine through clearing fog above Bixby Bridge, Big Sur coast

On Memorial Day this year I figured that I might be able to rise very early and beat the worst of the holiday crowds to the Big Sur area of the Pacific Coast Highway south of Monterey and Carmel. And I was right—when I arrived there very early in the morning it not busy at all. (But a few hours later, after breakfast I presume, the crowds swelled impressively, and my drive back home took about twice as long as the early morning drive to the coast.)

This was one of a string of slightly-out-of-character clear weather late spring days along this coast. As many have discovered to their surprise and perhaps dismay, all of those beautiful sun-soaked photographs of summer along the Big Sur coast are also a big lie! In reality, you are far more likely to encounter fog. (If you want a better chance at clear skies, dress warmly and come in the winter between storms.) But this day was forecast to be warm and sunny along the coast and, in fact, the weather I first encountered was boring and blue. But a bit further south a stubborn bit of fog clung to the ridges above Bixby Bridge and a few other high points further south along the road. Entering these areas the winds whipped up to near gale levels and the temperature dropped as much as 20 degrees. The fog was not pervasive and in many places, such as this one, the sunlight was straggling through in spots. Some of the most beautiful light is found when filtered sunlight makes its way through the thin areas at the edges of fog banks, intensifying colors and bringing soft light into the shadows. Here the sun was peaking through closer to my position at Hurricane Point, though the fog was nearly obscuring the view further north at the famous Bixby Bridge.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: one

Rocky Shoreline, Fog, Big Sur

Point Sur Lighthouse

Pacific Coast Highway, Clearing Fog

Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.