A rugged example of the beauty of Big Sur you can hike to
Driving through Big Sur there are near infinite pullouts you can stop at and enjoy the views. However, not many of them allow you to go all the way down to the ocean itself. Partington Cove is a tiny inlet that you can access down a long gravel road enjoying the changing views of it as you descend. The cove itself is all large rocks, no beach at all. It is a rugged up-close view of the Pacific Ocean that was a combination of fog and ocean mist when I visited it. I found as cozy of a spot as there is there wedged between some boulders and listened to, looked at, and felt the incoming swells roll on shore.
Andrea contacted me over the summer inquiring about having a 1950s theme photo shoot including a classic Chevy Bel-Air car they were going to rent when the visited the area in October. I thought this sounded great and over the next few months we exchanged ideas for locations and the style of the shoot. She wanted it to be a free flowing and candid photo shoot, so no off camera lighting used, just my trusty Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM lens and the sunny skies of Big Sur. They were a very fun couple to photograph, making my job easy! Thank you Andrea for choosing me as your photographer and for sharing all your great ideas (that I will use for future clients) for candid portraits!
It was kind of unusual that my very first photo shoot since moving to California was an engagement shoot in Big Sur, something I do not specialize in and have not done in a long time. However, Prasanna contacted me and said he liked my work and even though I told him I am not an engagement or wedding photography specialist, he still wanted me as his photographer. I was flattered by that! The weather just worked out, as well as the timing, for getting these candid engagement shots. I now have a go to location for this type of shoot if clients do not have their own preference! Thank you Prasanna for choosing me as your engagement photographer and congratulations!
I visited Big Sur, California soon after becoming a certified drone pilot with only a few flights of experience. I wish I had the cinematic drone flying skills I have now then! I never move the gimbal while flying, the drone is only moving in one direction all the time, save for an attempt at using active track on the rocks. Someday I will return to Big Sur and make a much better drone video!
I have already shown you what it is like to fly right under the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur, California. And what the view looks like from beside it. This, now, is a view from only what a drone can see hovering out over the Pacific Ocean. I find it a lonelier view without the Sea as the background to the bridge. Is this what the Sea feels when it looks toward land? Is the Sea, sad?
For over a decade (or my whole life?) I daydreamed about driving up the Pacific Coast Highway in California going from Santa Monica, turning right where there is no more Road left, then following the Pacific Ocean all the way up to Monterey, stopping at such famous places as the Bixby Bridge. Recently I got to fulfill that dream and had my DJI Mavic Pro drone with me. I got bold, and flew it right under the bridge!
