Coast Highway (Highway 1) along the Big Sur Coastline of Central California. Photographed during a “photography drive” up this spectacular and rugged route from Southern California in late July.
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A cove and rocky beach near the outlet of a silt-filled stream along the Big Sur coastline of California. Photographed during my late July photography trip up the Big Sur coastline via Highway One, the Coast Highway.
The interesting and unusual coloration in the water of the cove seems to come from silt in a nearby stream and/or a shallow underwater sand bar. (I’m not certain which, but I’m inclined toward the former.)
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Cliff wall mirrored on the surface of a rockbound alpine lake in Sequoia National Park, California
I just returned from a 9-day trans-Sierra backpack trip that passed by the lake on the route over Kaweah Gap as we travelled from Crescent Meadow on the west side of the Sierra to Whitney Portal on the east side. The lake is near the top of the approx. 2500′ climb from Upper Hamilton Lake to Kaweah Gap, a pass across the Great Western Divide into the area near the Kaweahs. After struggling up the steepest portion of the climb – thankfully done in morning shade – you top a small saddle and there it is in front of you. I remember my first visit 30 years ago – although I had seen the famous Ansel Adams photograph of these cliffs I did not know where they were located… until I topped this rise and saw the actual scene right before me.
Shooting the “classic” lake view is almost embarrassingly easy. Walk up to the edge of the lake on the trail and drop down to some nice rocky spots along the shoreline, take out tripod, aim at opposite cliff (one of the signature features of the location), make photographs. It is my impression that this is one of those places that can be good to shoot a bit later in the day – perhaps around mid-morning as the light begins to spill over the ridge and onto portions of the water, where it can illuminate some very interesting underwater rocks.
Black and white photograph of the Pacific Ocean with offshore rocks along the Big Sur coastline of California. (Part of a series of minimalist seascapes that I’m working on.)
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