Driving Big Sur: Castle by the Sea Photo

Photographer’s Note

One of the reasons I decided to take this spectacular drive for the 17th time was that I haven’t seen the 17 mile drive since the fee was initiated. We found less traffic on the 17-mile-drive (map) after we turned off Highway 1. Highway One had become quite crowded on this November weekend day. The route is clearly marked and parking was available at the viewpoints This photo features the trademark Monterey Cypress. The photo was taken looking north from Cypress Point; looking South is Point Reyes.

Since my last visit to Carmel was from a sailboat anchored in Stillwater, I wanted to see this lovely cove again. At Cypress Point it was clear that we would have to turn back to the Pebble Beach Golf Course for this view. While the cove had lost its remote, end-of–the–world feeling, present on our 1969 visit; the Stillwater Bar & Grill view was still spectacular; the food was excellent and the service was terrible; all pretty much what I expected. I really enjoyed the Pappardelle Pasta with Dungeness Crab, Oven Roasted Tomatoes & Chives; Larry’s Dungeness Crab Louie was also great. He was also very impressed with the olive tampenade served with hot sour dough rolls.

I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that this spectacular section of the coast had been degraded into a Disneyland ride. I also muttered that they should use some of the fees to install underground utilities. Although I tried to tell myself that the fee was little different than a toll road, I still felt a bit resentful as did some of the reviewers of this drive. By the time we reached Asilomar State Beach in the early afternoon, parking was very limited. From there until we reached the excellent parking near the Monterey wharf, we weren’t able to stop for photos. Fortunately, Tom Trinko has covered
Pacific Grove in stunning detail. He's even got a green flash. There are more photos in the theme; including Oliver's shot, which looke like it was taken near Asilomar.

According to Wikipedia, the lone cypress is the symbol of Pacific Grove; Phuoc, the fog expert, has captured it well rising out of the mist glowing in the sunset. Tomorrow we end this trip at the current ‘Cannery Row’

robertosalguero, pboehringer, siolaw, besnard, postvikram, Henryk_Bilor, imrek, gelor, cunejo200, ktanska, delkoo, xuaxo, john_c, lukas, asajernigan, pablominto, josepmarin, Floydian, leo61, alekpet, Davidwh, bakes888, banyanman, P-S-I-G has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

siolaw (25832) 2006-11-14 0:40

Hi Patricia,
A nice addition to your Big Sur series! Castle naturally framed by recurrent road on one side and trees on the other and top looks real good
TFS
Laurent

besnard (31064) 2006-11-14 1:23

Bonjour Patricia
Très joli paysage. Les arbres sont superbes et bien mis en valeur. Juste une petite remarque : la voiture.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

postvikram (1199) 2006-11-14 1:37

Hello Patricia ,
the view is spectacular and you have captured it perfectly.
Great note, the picture looks like a painting. The curves on the trees, the fence and the road make this photo look unique.
TFS - VIkram

Gerrit (36269) 2006-11-14 3:08

Hin Patricia,
fantastic picture. The windings in ther tree, the fence and the road match eachother perfectly and the see-through is very inviting.
Regards, Gerrit

robertosalguero (110) 2006-11-14 3:31

Pat you live in a beautiful place. The trees are not familiar to me. I find them very interesting because of their shape. The road curving along the cliffs and the shore I bet is magnificent. I can just think of the people who live along the road and geto see the sunsets and sunries every day. It must be beautiful. Great picture Pat.

Roberto

imrek (4) 2006-11-14 5:04

HI Patricia,
very good composition and an interesting tree formations, really pleasant to look at!!!
regards,
imre

gelor (3224) 2006-11-14 5:59

Bonjour Patricia,
Un beau tableau, bien composé aux couleurs sombres mais douces et précises... Le seul petit regret c'est la voiture qui n'a rien à faire dans ce contexte à mon avis. Il n'en reste pas moins que cette image est très belle. Merci.
Gérard

cunejo200 (7243) 2006-11-14 7:18

Greetings Pat,
I like the texture of the tree branches, and the curvaceous road. Well presented with good DOF, lighting and colors. Regards. Danilo

ktanska (16695) 2006-11-14 7:46

Hi Pat,
This scene looks magical. Framing by very twisted trees. Pastel tones that give an impression of painted landscape. Deep scene with close and far away details. I think the car somehow breaks the style. It just looks too modern on this timeless image.
Kari

feather (50144) 2006-11-14 11:24

This is a beautiful photo Pat; it has everything. Tree for framing; the sense of looking through to the scene beyond; the fence and road to lead-in. I also like the green sea which is unusual under a blue sky and the very unusual twisted trees. Difficult exposure is well managed and the focus is spot-on. It also has that indefinable quality I've seen before - almost like a coloured drawing. I find it very attractive. Did you do something different in PP? I've just noticed the long zoom you used. It doesn't look like a long zoomed photo at all.
Great work.
Kath

xuaxo (5835) 2006-11-14 12:01

Hi Pat
I agree with critiques, including about the car, so I removed it in a simple workshop (I'm sorry the frame isn't as good).
Edit: I didn't like the result of that first workshop (Altered Image #3). So, I made another - just for play. In the second workshop (Altered Image #4) I cloned (not so well) the car and changed the color to sepia.
F

[workshop] [compare] +

pboehringer (770) 2006-11-14 13:04

This is an excellent framing of a detailed scenery of the 17 mile drive. The composition is really great and I especialy love the cypresses openning the view to the sea and the railing along the street making a nice separation of the natural landscape and the man made domination of the landscape.
Small correction to your text: Norbert was not at Point Reyes but at Point Lobos. I was with him and now it for sure :-)
Kind Regards, Peter
:) tomorrow

john_c (24635) 2006-11-14 13:55

Hi Patricia,
Having taken this drive just once -last year-I am impressed with the way you have captured its beauty. The cypress is captured so well here, with its sinuous branches and limbs. Moreover, you have combined the trees with both the curving fence and road, and the scene has the appearance of a painting one might see hanging in one of those trendy art galleries in Carmel. Very fine work, Pat. This has real artistry.
John

isabib (1951) 2006-11-14 15:32

Hi Patricia,

The twisted trunk of the tree, the curve line of the street and the lovely view is amazing. This is a great shot! TFS!

lukas (2027) 2006-11-14 15:58

Hi Patricia
It seems like a drawing to me, not real and this makes this photo extraordinnary and romantic. Excellent work!
Congratulations!
Luc

sothy81 (8540) 2006-11-14 19:00

Hi Patricia:

this is such a lovely picture. This horizontal look is very suitable here. Interesting curce of the trees. Good work. Sothy

dragonslayero (3108) 2006-11-14 20:06

Hello Patricia, how are you doing?

Well this sure is a quite spectacular view, those trees look amazing.
Your composition works great, buth the road and the fence leading the view into the photo and at the same time straight into these stunning trees.
Light conditions seem a bit low and perhaps the colours seem a little faded, but I like the feeling it creates of this forest area being old and gnarled.

Odd Jarle

asajernigan (14284) 2006-11-14 22:23

This is a great photo, it looks like an oil painting.
Great DOF and Composition, your colors and lighting are fine.
I like the way you framed the house with the trees.
Thanks,
Asa

pablominto (41354) 2006-11-15 1:50

Hello Patricia,
This looks like a painting in oil!
A beautiful composition with the house and the curving road, not to mention the wonderful old trees and the view to the Pacific...
Fine colours and lovely details!
Greetings,
Pablo -

darrasin (2860) 2006-11-15 2:21

Hello Pat! You certainly are blessed to have done this drive 17 times. Your clarity in this shot is amazing and there's something of a 3 dimensional feel to the composition. Well done! The Monterey Cypress make a very appropriate frame.

Regards,
Doug

fayeulle (26547) 2006-11-15 2:23

Realy stunning shot Patricia. It's look like a painting. I visted Carmel / Monterey 24 years ago, but I dont remember such a place.
Very well done
JP

delkoo (34788) 2006-11-15 3:29

hi patricia
what i like in your photograph it is the tortured aspect of the trees and just a window between them to see the sea.
very well framed
didier

-:)) tomorrow

rosaline (0) 2006-11-15 3:40

Hi Patricia
I like your pov here. And you have captured the formation of the trees very well. Don't think I've seen that species before. The overhanging trees and branches frames the shot nicely and the road leads into the distance and draws the viewer in too. This is very good composition. Nice work.
Aubrey

vincz (19045) 2006-11-15 4:03

Great super sharp shot with very creative compsotion. Very well done.

Angshu (34099) 2006-11-15 4:19

Hi Pat
This is excellent framing. The trees with their winding shape are very interesting with the view of the sea (how can you be far from it?) & the house perched in the cliff. You do provide a wealth of information thru the links in your note..fascinating to read & understand more. Great picture Pat
Regards
Angshu

pastadog (12821) 2006-11-15 5:38

Hi Patricia, long time no see! Wow, you've been posting so many beautiful shots... This one is really fantastic, the compo, the depth and I have to "admit" that I really love that car in the frame! (after all, this is a "drive" series...) Excellent job, cheers :) Daniel

leo61 (43734) 2006-11-15 12:43

Hi Patricia!
Great shot and excellent composition with the nice house framed by the road and the sea.Your POV is excellent and the strange trees look great.
Regards,Leo

alekpet (4659) 2006-11-15 17:35

Hi Pat.

Nice framing of the image with the car. Good choice for letting it there. Lovely trees and a lovely curve of the road. If you can get close to 3d with a 2d photography, this is it!

All the best, Aleks

Floydian (30970) 2006-11-16 3:36

Hi Patricia,
I forgot this one, sorry.
I remember this road very well, it was crowdy, but very lovely.
Your picture adds a great depth in an excellent composition line from the bend of the road and the blue green colors of the sea and sky.
At the end of my tour i will do a posting of the Lone Cyprus, but it seems it is just another picture from that lonesome tree that isn't that lonesome atfter all with all the attention it gets ;-)
Regards, Henk

Davidwh (3654) 2006-11-16 10:17

Hi Pat,
There is a real "Painting" effect in this image....it is very attractive.If it wasn't for the car I could easily put this one up on my wall.Lovely and soft...perfectly balanced content, colour and light...well done.Hope you are well...been a while since I dropped by.
Regards, david

bakes888 (18353) 2006-11-17 14:46

Hi Pat. If it wasn’t for the car I would have thought this was a painting. Excellent composition and handling of light. Well spotted and captured. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

gunbud (28161) 2006-11-17 21:16

Hi Pat,
Love the dramatic trees that you used to frame the distant sea. There is a very nice contrast of the blue sky and green sea below.
Regards, Tom

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2006-11-18 4:02

Hi Patricia
What a wonderful place. Amazing building on the rocky cliff. Lovely painting-like image with this composition and framing.
Regards

josepmarin (34099) 2006-11-19 9:34

Hi Pat,
It is a very peculiar composition, is not the typical landscape of postcard but it is very pleasant at sight, and shows us beautiful elements in the setting.
I like to see the road and the car aside and the sea and the sky to another side, with the trees of amazing forms and the house that seems to be hung on the emptiness in the centre of this image.
Everything works perfectly here, and the lighting and the soft colors increase the sensation of great quality and beauty in the photo.
A good work, undoubtedly.
Regards,
Josep

kurekpit (401) 2006-11-23 18:34

Hi Patricia
Very nice composition,good shot,greetings,TFS

* Piotr *

banyanman (7737) 2006-12-09 14:21

Hi Pat. I've come back to this one because I love these twisted and gnarled tree trunks of the Monterey Cypresses - there is so much to photograph along this drive. If it wasn't for the car in this photograph, you could have passed this off for a painting. You have framed this well and controlled the light superbly. I am in two minds whether this would look better cropped on the right to about the end of the wooden fence - if you did that it definitely would look like a painting.

Cheers . . . David

PS: Thanks for your comments on my recent Qatar posts - you have been very generous in critiquing all three.

verrefietsers (236) 2007-03-17 14:56