Revisited: Big Sur #3

These are the last of the Big Sur series of photos I took several years ago. I love the place and wish to visit again soon, although that sentiment seems to be an underlying theme to places already visited. I end up wanting to go somewhere new, and rarely, if ever, will go a second time to the same place just to photograph. As it is, there are so many places I want to visit and photograph that one lifetime would not cover, considering I may only have a handful more of good years that could be devoted to some serious photography endeavors. Of course, there will always be exceptions to this rule.

The images below were taken around sunset and just past, known to photographers as the "Golden Hour". There are two golden hours actually: the time just before and during sunrise and the same applies for sunset. After that, the light becomes too harsh and contrasty. You, yourselves have experienced it.

When does one watch the sunset, and why? Favorite time of the day for me? Sunrise. Things are quiet, the air cool, still and fresh, and the sun is low -- bathing the earth with a warm, soft glow. This is especially pronounced in the fall when the sun comes up low on the horizon and seems to take its pleasant and sublime time before reaching up into the upper strata of the sky.

The silhouette of the man above is one of my favorite Big Sur photos. It isn't spectacular, but it does express a sense of serenity; of someone coming down to the water's edge in order to sit, admire, and reflect for a period of time, and to temporarily be at peace with one's self and with the world.

 

 The shot above was taken some ten minutes after the sun was completely down. What appears to be fog is actually the shore break. The effect is achieved by setting the camera on a sturdy tripod and in this case, exposing for 30 seconds.

Point Sur Lighthouse. Taken well after sunset, with an exposure time of 4 seconds. Supposedly haunted. GACK!

That concludes the Big Sur photos. The next set of pics is for the birds.