Don Smith Photography's Blog
Sunset Light on Cypress Grove
Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 27 March 2009 in Landscape & Rural.
Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel, California, is perhaps my favorite location along the entire 97-mile stretch of the Big Sur coastline. On the last night of my workshop, I took my students to the north point along the Cypress Grove Trail. This is a gentle one-mile loop trail which meanders through a thick grove of Monterey cypress trees and affords ample views of the Pacific Ocean and the majesty of the rocky coastline.
Unfortunately on this particular evening, there wasn't a cloud in sight. I had always been intrigued by this rocky outcropping and how the withered trees are able to thrive in this somewhat harsh environment. As the sun neared the horizon, the granite rocks were bathed with a warm light. The distant hills of Carmel and Pebble Beach became less of a distraction and a wide angle lens drew the warmly-lit foliage into the foreground. As a bonus, the red algae, seen growing on the trees only at the far north point of the grove, took on a iridescent glow.
This is a rare case where I felt I made a successful image with the sun literally to my back. In most instances, I am either shooting towards the sun or perpendicular to it. This was just such a pretty scene, that I felt my position relative to the sun was justified.
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