The Mystique Of Pfeiffer Beach
It's late December and hordes of photographers are currently converging on Big Sur's Pfeiffer beach from all over the world. As one puzzled visitor asked me last week, "What's with all the photographers? What are they shooting?" The answer, of course, is the light pouring through the Keyhole Arch which only happens from mid December through January each year.
Just out of curiosity, I headed back this year on solstice to see if the light was any better than two years ago but while I was there, I discovered that Pfeiffer offers far more for photographers than just the light in the Keyhole Arch. For starters, this photo isn't from the Keyhole. It's from another small archway just South of the keyhole. Most photographers completely ignore this spot since the multitudes are flocking the the larger archway to the North. Secondly, the TIDE is a huge factor in what type of light will make it through the arch and for how long. Even though I was there on December 21, the light we had two years ago was far superior to what we had this year as the high water level actually cut off the light through the arch with at least 10 minutes of golden sunlight left. And lastly, the entire area is an incredible location to shoot. In spite of the many opportunities on this stretch of coastline, I watched almost 50 photographers leave en masse as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, migrating back to their cars in droves while there was still plenty of good light and sunset color in the sky. Why? The sunlight in the archway had disappeared, and to them, the show was now over.
For more tips on shooting the Keyhole arch AND the rest of Pfeiffer Beach, please feel free to check out
Tips For Shooting Big Sur’s Pfeiffer Beach
which is up today on The Resonant Landscape.
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Thank you so much for your views and comments! If you have specific questions please be sure to send me a message via flickr mail, or feel free to contact me via one of the following:
Blog | Website | Facebook | Instagram | 500px | Twitter | Google +
The Mystique Of Pfeiffer Beach
It's late December and hordes of photographers are currently converging on Big Sur's Pfeiffer beach from all over the world. As one puzzled visitor asked me last week, "What's with all the photographers? What are they shooting?" The answer, of course, is the light pouring through the Keyhole Arch which only happens from mid December through January each year.
Just out of curiosity, I headed back this year on solstice to see if the light was any better than two years ago but while I was there, I discovered that Pfeiffer offers far more for photographers than just the light in the Keyhole Arch. For starters, this photo isn't from the Keyhole. It's from another small archway just South of the keyhole. Most photographers completely ignore this spot since the multitudes are flocking the the larger archway to the North. Secondly, the TIDE is a huge factor in what type of light will make it through the arch and for how long. Even though I was there on December 21, the light we had two years ago was far superior to what we had this year as the high water level actually cut off the light through the arch with at least 10 minutes of golden sunlight left. And lastly, the entire area is an incredible location to shoot. In spite of the many opportunities on this stretch of coastline, I watched almost 50 photographers leave en masse as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, migrating back to their cars in droves while there was still plenty of good light and sunset color in the sky. Why? The sunlight in the archway had disappeared, and to them, the show was now over.
For more tips on shooting the Keyhole arch AND the rest of Pfeiffer Beach, please feel free to check out
Tips For Shooting Big Sur’s Pfeiffer Beach
which is up today on The Resonant Landscape.
--------------
Thank you so much for your views and comments! If you have specific questions please be sure to send me a message via flickr mail, or feel free to contact me via one of the following:
Blog | Website | Facebook | Instagram | 500px | Twitter | Google +