Rocky Creek Bridge, Surf and Fog

Posted on 13 February 2008

I’d like to claim that this photograph was the result of a lot of careful planning and familiarity with the geography and conditions of the area. But it wasn’t.

Lucky for me I arrived too early at Point Lobos on the day I made this photograph. Rather than waiting around for 20 minutes, on a whime I decided to drive south, where I encountered fog clinging to the coastline above the huge Pacific winter surf – in fact, it was the surf that was creating this misty effect as the huge waves lifted spray into the air. This haze was found only down by the water, and above the sky was crystal clear and the temperatures were warm for this time of year. So, it was essentially by coincidence that I found myself in this spot at all.

Second, because it happened to be morning and because the mist was very shallow the light from above shone into and through the fog, creating the light beams that cut diagonally through the scene.

Third, although this spot is known to other photographers, I had not shot it before nor did I realize that I was there until after I happened to look around a spot this cave.

Fourth, I happened to have with me for the very first time a new, long lens – with a long enough focal length to make a photograph out of this scene. (It was shot at 400mm on a full frame DSLR.)

Sometimes a shot is the result of careful planning and vision. Sometimes it isn’t.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: black and white, bixby bridge, surf, waves, froth, rocks, headland, cliffs, mountains, pacific, ocean, coast, highway, california, usa, travel, road, scenic, landscape, seascape, stock, rugged, sun, beams, light

Category: Photographs: Ocean

2 comments to Rocky Creek Bridge, Surf and Fog

Big Sur Coastline at the Granite Creek Bridge | G Dan Mitchell Photography says:

January 13, 2010 at 4:02 am

[...] have photographed this scene before, so it was on my list of places to check out as I drove down the Big Sur coast on the second day of [...]

Thoughts About Long Zooms and Primes and ‘Image Quality’ | G Dan Mitchell Photography says:

October 27, 2011 at 2:28 pm

[...] visit along the Central California coast – and managed to a few photographs (examples here, here and here) that I would not have been able to get with either my existing lenses or the prime. [...]