Standing like a sentinel, battered and pounded by Pacific storms as they move eastward across California the Lone Cypress was once part of a large forest of Monterey cypress trees which lined the coast of central California but are now limited to two small groves near Monterey and Carmel.

This famous 250 year old icon of California stands rooted in to a surf pounded rock and has even survived an arson attempt which prompted the Pacific Beach Golf Club to build a small wall around the exposed roots and install support cables to keep the tree from falling during high winds. Under normal conditions the Monterey cypress can grow to 80 feet however The Lone Cypress stands only 25 feet tall due to the harsh conditions.

The tree is a popular photographic location and has been filmed by Ansel Adams and Edward
Weston.

I took a number of shots on this evening and they were all great but it was the last shots of the day that would turn out the best. As the sun dropped past the horizon the clouds over the distant hills formed up creating some nice pink streaks that are not in earlier shots. The setting sun really intensify the sunset colors on the distant clouds. The sky deepened the blue / purple tones on the landscape and ocean which helps bring out the golden tones of the last bit of light on the rock.

If you follow my photostream you may have seen another shot on the same day which featured a Stellar Blue jay on the branches in the foreground but I think this image best represents the mood.

Darv

Darvin Atkeson
LiquidMoonlight Studios

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D300
Exposure:	0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture:	f/4.5
ISO Speed:	200
Focal Length:	28 mm
Lens:	17.0-55.0 mm f/2.8