Lone Cypress tree

The Lone Cypress tree, believed to be more than 250 years old, draws many visitors to the scenic 17-Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula to take photographs of it, me included. Yes this is from our California trip last fall. I got distracted for a while. Here are two shots

Lone Cypress tree

Martins Beach

the distinctive shark’s tooth rock at Martin’s Beach 

Martins Beach on the San Mateo County coast, seven miles south of Half Moon Bay. The only way onto this scenic beach is a single road through private property.  The owner restricted access to that road by displaying “No Trespassing” signs, charging parking fees, and locking its access gate. 

We went there anyways as we we advised that it is a great spot for photography, as it was. We spent few hours there watching the changing skies over the ocean. The sky had different shades depending what direction you looked at and also as time passed to evening , that also had some effect. There we about five other people there also taking photos and one surfer also came.

Beach Life

I know you must be tired of seeing my photos of beaches and cliffs, I don’t care. We stopped here also for a moment (Pomponio State Beach) . I have admit that these too are photos that do justice to the atmosphere on the beach that day, I rather like these. I also did a set of these photos that I edited rather strongly, I do like them also and I will post them in a separate post.

Pomponio State Beach

This beach is located 12 miles south of Half Moon Bay along the San Mateo coastline, this area provides access to miles of gently sloping, sandy beaches at the base of high sandstone bluffs. 

Fishing spot

somewhere on the coast of Big Sur we saw these men fishing among one of the many beautiful spots on this drive. I have to admit the light during this moment is great These are one of my favorites photos on a way, due to the lightning.

McWay Falls

McWay Falls(   80-foot-tall (24 m) waterfall)  is “that” waterfall in Big Sur that everyone has seen and many have photographed. That now includes me. The Cliff areas beyond the fenced boundaries, including the beach, saddle rock and the falls area are completely off limits. So the end of the trail was where you could take the photos. Our time of visit was not the best as the light was rather harsh, but we did not have the opportunity and time to pick the time of the visit.

The Inn at Spanish Bay

The Inn at Spanish Bay at sunset. I have to say it was a truly memorable experience to relax by the warm fire pits with some hors d’oeuvres and cocktails to wait for the sunset and hear and enjoy the sounds of the bagpiper as he puts the golf course to sleep in Scottish tradition. Once in a life time for me that’s for sure!

Lovers Point

Lovers Point Park has above all become Pacific Grove’s best-loved spot for scenic photography. Because of its unique east-facing location, it is also one of the only spots on the West Coast where you can watch the sun rise over the water, but we were not lucky the morning was gray and misty. Still it was a nice spot to visit first thing in the morning.

Misty road

The morning mist was lovely, we slept so late that we never caught it at our destination, it would have given me few great shots, instead I caught them in the car. As quickly as the mist came it also passed. So here are few misty road shots near Carmel by Sea. I had fun with editing 🙂 the last picture is just as the camera caught it.

Looks good in monochrome too.
Straight from the camera

The colors of beach

Cypress Point Club beach

I love watching the ocean, the waves, changing colors of blue and green. The warm sand underneath my toes. Sun.

Andrew Molera State Park

ig Sur river flowing out into the Pacific Ocean at Andrew Molera State Park south of Monterey

Big Sur – Willow Creek view point

Continuing the route, these are views from Willows Creek view point.

35°53’33.774″ N 121°27’39.978″ W

It’s utterly beautifulawe-inspiring, and humbling in every way. Hope you enjoy seeing the beautiful landscape from the California Coast through my eyes and lenses.

Big Sur – Cabrillo Hwy

The following posts will have bunch of photos from Big Sur, California. We drove the Cabrillo Hwy and took in all the beautiful views on this route. This time my husband had found the brake in the car, he has a tendency to drive directly to the destination. As this was a scenic route we stopped many, many and once more many times.

It’s utterly beautifulawe-inspiring, and humbling in every way. Hope you enjoy seeing the beautiful landscape from the California Coast through my eyes and lenses.

on the road #3

Still on the road. What you see when you travel and stay awake..

On the Road #2

I loved spotting the trees on the rolling hills. Considering I took these from a moving car I think they came out rather good. For some reason this kind of images appeal to me. I often take photos of a lonely tree of few trees? Do you have a favorite topic you come back to?

Tree on a hill

All the rolling hills on this part of the drive appeal to my aesthetic sensibilities 🙂

Bridges from Portland

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Bridges

Monochrome Madness (23) – Point Vicente Lighthouse

The top one of these photos is my submission to week 23 to the  Monochrome Madness Challenge hosted by Leanne Cole and Laura Macky.  This light house is from California,  Point Vicente Lighthouse.  I did various versions of this, the original photo is at the bottom of the post.

Ritva Sillanmäki - CA light house (1 of 2)

Ritva Sillanmäki - CA light house (3 of 3) Ritva Sillanmäki - CA light house (2 of 3)

 

Ritva Sillanmäki - CA light house (1 of 3)

Ritva Sillanmäki - CA light house (1 of 1)

 

 

More beautiful photos at Monochrone Madness Tuesday August 5th.