Big Sur Portfolio

The Coastline at Sunrise

Big Sur at Sunset taken in the Julia Pfeiffer State Park

Even foul weather looks great here

As we wait here for Hurricane Sandy to arrive in New Jersey, I’m thinking of a different place.

This portfolio of photographs from Big Sur, California where we recently spent a week go along with the two images in my previous post. When we were leaving Big Sur our 23-year-old son said it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen in his life. After processing these photos, I’d say he is probably right. My wife commented a week after we came home that Big Sur really got under her skin and she really missed the place.

Why not, it is a place that is about as perfect as you can ask for scenery wise. The mountains come right up to the ocean giving you a beautiful rocky coastline, steep canyons, Redwood groves and an amazing assortment of arid and forested environments. It is hard to go wrong with a camera in Big Sur.

Still there is something else. Maybe it is the culture, or the people who express their creativity by starting unusual businesses and building even more unusual homes. Whatever it is, it inspires creativity. Our first few days there were a little tough photographically. The sky was perfectly blue and as beautiful as the scenery was, the sun was very bright casting strong and distracting shadows. At sunset the clouds would roll in sometimes giving some great opportunities. On our last full day a partly cloudy sky really brought out the texture of this landscape. Fortunately it was also the day we planned a long hike up in the mountains to take advantage of the views.

Our last day proved even better when rain and fog hit Big Sur. Bad weather can be a distraction but here the landscape became more beautiful.