Photographing Big Sur California
Big Sur California is a place of magic where dreams come true, artists are inspired, and photography opportunities abound. If you have never been to Big Sur you should take the time to escape to this surreal world of fog shrouded redwood forests, rugged coastline of crashing waves, towering mountains, and steep cliffs falling off into the ocean. Big Sur will capture your imagination and you will fall in love with the beauty of this enchanted land where mermaids splash in blue pools and starry skies stream overhead on warm summer nights.
Big Sur is not just the village located 24 miles south of Carmel, California. It is also a mountainous area on the Central Coast of California, between Carmel and San Simeon. The Santa Lucia Mountains, which make up Big Sur, rise out of the Pacific Ocean and reach an elevation of 5,158 feet at Cone Peak. This mountain range runs 140 miles southeast from Carmel to the Cuyama River and its crest is never more than 11 miles from the coast. Highway 1 runs along the coastline through Big Sur and is considered one of the most scenic drives in the world. The remoteness of Big Sur is perfect for those wanting to visit secluded beaches, hike through chaparral hillsides and forests of redwood, fir, and pine. There are many places to pull off Highway 1 and view the scenery or hike into the mountains to escape the crowds.
Some of the most popular sites to visit in Big Sur are McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, image above, Andrew Molera State Park, and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.
One of my favorite places to visit in Big Sur is Garrapata State Park. This state park is about 7 miles south of Carmel, California and is the perfect spot to view amazing wildflowers during the summer months. There are wonderful hiking trails in the Park with some that follow the coastline and access the beaches. The Soberanes Canyon Trail accesses the mountains east of Highway 1.
Non-native Calla Lilies flourish along the secluded streams that flow into the ocean along the Big Sur Coastline. Most of these beautiful flowers grow in Garrapata State Park and the best place to find those are on Doud Creek, just west of Highway 1. The best time to find these flowers blooming is February through May but I have still seen blooms in June if it has been a wet year.
Exploring the forested mountainsides of Big Sur can be very fruitful if you are an artist. If you have an SUV or truck, driving the Old Coast Road can be an adventure to see a different view of Big Sur. It starts at Bixby Bridge and winds through the mountains following Bixby Creek and Sierra Creek to finally come out on Highway 1 at Andrew Molera State Park. If you drive this route make sure to have plenty of gas and do not try this drive in wet weather. This road is a very remote area and if you get stuck you will have a long walk out to the highway. The Old Coast Road passes through enchanted evergreen forests of Redwood and Douglas Fir. In places the forest floor is covered in shamrock and fog shrouds the scene.
Big Sur is one of the best places to watch sunsets if you like rocky shorelines. The crashing waves and towering cliffs make for perspectives and compositions that are unique on the planet. Photographing Big Sur is all about scouting for locations during the middle of the day and then returning to your chosen locations at sunset. The low light of the sun sinking into the Pacific Ocean creates the mood and lighting needed to make your photographs perfect.
The vast vistas of the Pacific Ocean seen from the many pullouts off Highway 1 in Big Sur make for beautiful sunset photographs. For the image below I had my camera on a tripod, and then using a long shutter speed, I quickly panned the camera from left to right during the exposure. This technique is known as Intentional Camera Movement (ICM), which is perfect to create soft abstract images. I love the endless expanse of ocean in this photograph and the lines of rolling waves.
The night sky can be amazing in Big Sur if you get lucky and there is no summer fog. For the image below I setup at Vista Point just north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. We watched the sunset over the ocean and listened to the waves crashing below us. The crickets started chirping and it was a glorious summer night. Finally about 1:00 a.m., the Milky Way was in position and I took the two exposures to create the following image.
Take time to explore Big Sur, California to really appreciate the beauty this area has to offer. Great photographs do not just happen, you must plan, prepare, and think about what you want. I found early mornings were not good because the sun was too high by the time it was over the Santa Lucia Mountains. Late afternoon and evening are the best times for the perfect light in Big Sur. Also, staying out late to see what the night sky has to offer is well worth the wait, if the weather conditions cooperate.
Big Sur's magic is captivating if you take the time to truly see it. The whole area is a place of extreme nature, wild terrain, and abundant life. Scenes of wave-splashed rocks, waterfalls tumbling onto the sand, and colorful flowers glowing in the evening light abound just waiting for the artist to capture. Let yourself be carried away into this land of enchantment and lose yourself in the photography. You may find your artistic self, awaken your inner child, and fly off to Neverland.
Happy Trails!
