I had two open days; no commitments, no plans. I packed a bag, loaded by camera gear, and headed south down Highway 1. My goal was to explore the Big Sur area south of Garrapata State Park. Specifically, I wanted to see Pfeiffer Beach and McWay Falls. I have seen many photos from these two places, but I had never been to either. Before leaving I downloaded onto my iPad, "The Photographer's Guide to the Big Sur Coast" by Don Smith (from whom I have taken several workshops). www.donsmithphotography.com I would not have gotten this view of Bixby Bridge without Don's digital help.
I was delighted to add the Point Sur Lighthouse
to my growing collection.
I heard many people comment on the "perfect weather." Perfect for tourists, but I wanted clouds. A plain, blue sky is the bane of photographers. I wanted dramatic storm clouds, or at least some rolling fog, but alas, I got neither. Only thing to do is minimize the sky in the composition...
or leave it out completely, as I did here at McWay Falls.
In the winter, the light from the setting sun shines through this and another arch at Pfeiffer Beach, turning the breaking waves a glowing gold. In August the angle is off, but the wave action was still spectacular.
Not a wisp of a cloud to add interest to the sunset sky, but this large rock did provide an opportunity to create a star burst, the first time I have ever gotten one without huge sun flares to spoil the picture. I am very pleased with this photo.
For the 5 minutes before the sun mushed into a thick fog bank, the glowing sunlight set the crest of every wave on fire. As this one hit the rock, the light broke into a rainbow. This more than made up for the lack of clouds in the sky.
This was a good birthday.
I have more Big Sur photos on my Flickr page
(including Naked Ladies at McWay Cove):
