My January 2015 Photo of the Month is Grand Bixby, an image made of the world-famous Bixby Canyon Bridge in Big Sur.
Grand Bixby Background
As it gets said time and again, the more you visit a place, the more you learn about it. This was my 3rd time making this kind of image at the Bixby Canyon Bridge, and I finally made the image I always wanted.
The weather was nice and although I didn’t get an incredible amount of color at twilight, it was enough to set up a good mood. Traffic is fairly easy to photograph as a long exposure, but this time, I had enough southbound traffic to get light trails on both stretches along the route in a single image.
Big Sur is one of the quiet places that is hard to imagine existing in California. But it is here. It’s a reminder of what California used to be like. When the Bixby Canyon Bridge itself was built, the massive waves of migration from the rest of the United States was just beginning.
This location holds another place in my heart because it intersects with my reading interests as well. The “Raton Canyon” from Jack Kerouac’s “Big Sur” is actually Bixby Canyon. As it turned out, Ben from Death Cab For Cutie knew this as well and my favorite track from the band, indeed, is Bixby Canyon Bridge.
It is hard to not feel something special when all of these elements come together.
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.
PS: Enjoy the song. It is well worth the listen.
T.M. Schultze is a San Diego-based photographer, traveller, and writer. He writes, photographs, and draws things of the outdoors that have inspired humans for thousands of years. He co-authored the Photographer’s Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.