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So two weeks ago I came across an image. I really can't recall if it was flickr or if I was looking for something on Google....but there it was. A shot of sunlight streaming through the "Keyhole" archway at Pfieffer Beach off the coast of Big Sur. As I began to dig around for more information, it turned out that this particular confluence of events only occurs for a few short weeks every Winter. In order for the sun to stream uninhibited through the archway at sunset, you need the sun to be far enough into the Southern Hemisphere, a clear sky without fog or storm clouds, and the tide needs to be far enough up the beach to surround the arch.

After checking and finding that I only had two weeks to decide if I wanted to try this, I checked the weather forecast, and decided to go. So last Saturday, I set off on my quest and drove the 327 miles to Big Sur whereupon I drove RIGHT BY the turn off to get to Pfieffer Beach. I mean....What the freak? Let's just say that the good people of Big Sur went out of their way to HIDE this road as there are no signs and it just PLUMMETS off the side of Pacific Coast Highway. I was staring right at it as I drove right by.

In any case, after waiting another 20 minutes or so for a parking place to open up (Parking is $5) I raced down to the beach and found about 30 other photographers who had also made the pilgrimage to this spot. At several moments while I was up there, it was every photographer for him or her self as folks had no problem plopping their tripods down right in front of everyone else's. But there were several angles from which to shoot and I quickly filled up a couple of 16 gig cards before heading back home. For this particular shot, I used a 10 stop B &W ND filter for a total of 34 seconds with the Nikkor 28-300 VR. I also had my 14-24 with me on the D800 and will be posting a few shots from that as well over the coming weeks.

After the 650 mile round trip drive to shoot the arch, I would have to rate this experience right up there with the firefall effect at the Horsetail Falls at Yosemite (although the 327 mile trip home took a monster, two mountain dews and a 5 hour energy). A small cadre of flickr photographers is heading up there in a few weeks and our number is already up to 16, so if you aren't doing anything on Feb 15-17, please feel free to join us!

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Tags:   Pfeiffer Beach Arch Big Sur Keyhole Sunset Long Exposure Nikkor 28-300 VR Nikon D7000

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I wasn't sure what I would come home with when I set off for Big Sur a few weeks ago. I had heard conflicting reports that the sun might have moved too far North to be seen through the Keyhole at Pfeiffer arch, and that the effect wouldn't work into the month of January. When I arrived, after a 6 hour drive, I was very relieved to find that this was certainly not the case. After I took the long exposure shot posted below, I set about trying to shoot the sun from every angle I could find, which was made more challenging by the fact that 40 other photographers were roaming around me at the same time trying to do the same thing. Every once and a while, some guy would just boldly walk in front of all of us and plop his tripod down directly in front of the entire group and we would all mutter curses at him....right up until a wave would knock his camera over and then we would all smile quietly to ourselves. KARMA! :)

So the sun was almost gone for the day when I moved my tripod directly in the path of the light and accidentally stopped down a bit too far....and suddenly saw the sunburst. I think I scared most of the people around me when I yelled. I spent the next several minutes shooting at f22 as I liked how the keyhole basically disappeared leaving the illusion that the sunlight is bursting right out of solid rock.

Definitely on my list to try again next year, although the 12 hours of driving was a bit painful. Devilishly tricky to find this beach and parking is a nightmare, but once you're there, it's easily one of the most gorgeous spots on the California Coastline.


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Tags:   Pfeiffer Arch Big Sur Keyhole Sunset Nikon D800 Nikkor 14-24 2.8

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So last Thursday, I began to get the itch to try for another Big Sur Pfeiffer Arch sunset shot, and by Saturday, I had made arrangements for a quick overnight trip up the coast. On Saturday morning, I turned on the audio version of Billy Crystal's "Still Foolin Em" and set off for the 320 mile trip up the coast. I knew that the national weather service was calling for mostly cloudy skies, but on the satellite, the clouds looked a bit broken and I thought I might get lucky with the sky above the arch. I arrived in Big Sur by mid afternoon, but the clouds had rolled in a bit too thick and I was bang out of luck in terms of getting any sunlight through the arch. I drove almost two hours back down South almost to Cambria to try to find some sun, but pretty much everything was socked in by that point. Feeling a bit down, I headed up to my motel in Monterey hoping for better luck that night. The moon actually came out after a 90 minute drive up to Pigeon Point and I had some decent luck shooting until the cops showed up. .

The next morning , I got up at 4:30 on a hunch that the same high clouds might hang around long enough to catch some of that early morning light. I arrived at 6 AM and was a bit nervous that the cops might return as the beach area didn't open to the public unti 8 AM, but at 6:30, I threw caution to the wind and set up the tripod as the sky was just beginning to light up. For the next 25 minutes or show, I fired off dozens of frames as the sky caught fire.

It was very cathartic for me to be able to finally get an early morning shot of this lighthouse after getting shut out over the Summer by fog. The clouds disappeared shortly after I shot the lighthouse, and there was quite a crowd down at the arch by the time sunset rolled around. I shot wider this year with the 14-24 and the fisheye and I hope to get some of those shots up in the next couple of weeks.

Then it was six hours back home. Definitely worth the drive last year, and definitely worth the drive again this year. I'm expecting it will definitely be worth the drive next year as well.

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Tags:   Pigeon Point Lighthouse sunrise Santa Cruz Half Moon Bay Big Sur Pacific Coast Highway California Seascape Nikon 28-300 VR

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So many challenges to deal each year while trying to get a decent shot of the arch. The tide moving in, the cadre of other photographers jockeying for position and accidentally getting into each other's way, giant strands of seaweed that keep washing up into your shot, etc, etc. I had a great time shooting and struck up a conversation with a couple of guys who grew up not too far away from me. The same type of thing happened last year: Everyone is chatting away amicably until about 1/2 hour before sunset and suddenly all the shutters start going off continuously and suddenly it's every man for himself, lol.

For those of you who might be interested, your opportunity to shoot the arch with the sun pouring through is drawing to a close pretty soon. Each year, the sun moves far enough south, (Late December, Early January) for the suns rays to travel through the archway in the giant pile of rocks on Pfeiffer Beach. The access to the beach is devilishly tricky to find as there are no clear signs at the turn off and the road simply drops off the edge on the Western Side. You also face the challenge of not finding a parking spot when you arrive at the bottom as there are only a handfull of spaces available in two small parking lots. If you cut it too close, you might end up waiting at the guard shack right through the sunset and miss the entire thing. This ALMOST happened to me last year. It's $5 to park, and then a short walk to the beach through the trees.

I've included a shot from last year below.

Tags:   Pfeiffer Arch Sunset Big Sur California Nikkor 14-24 2.8

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Another shot from my quick trip up the coast last month. Although my original intent was to shoot the Pfeiffer Arch at Big Sur, I was hoping that I could catch some early morning color if I went North of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse and shot back towards the South. When I arrived it was pitch black and I couldn't tell if I was sitting in a bank of fog or not until the sky began to grow lighter. As the light grew stronger, I thought I might be in luck as it looked like there were some nice high clouds above. Sure enough, just before sunrise, the entire sky to the South East caught fire and I shot both with the 28-300 on the tripod and the 14-24 handheld. I must have ran around on the top of that bluff for at least 45 minutes before I remembered to breathe.

If you've never been there, Pigeon Point Lighthouse is just North of Santa Cruz before you get to Half Moon Bay. It's about a 45 minute drive South from San Francisco.

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William McIntosh Photography

Tags:   Pigeon Point Lighthouse Santa Cruz Big Sur Pacific Coast Highway Half Moon Bay California

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