My May 2016 Photo of the Month is El Cajon Mountain Last Light, a photograph made in San Diego County.
Background
El Cajon Mountain is one of the landmarks in San Diego County, and perhaps its most impressive rock formation. The entire massif is easily seen through the County, and in some areas such as heading East on Interstate 8, you can appreciate just how impressive a mountain it really is.
This formation is also known as El Capitan, but at risk of it being mistaken for the famous El Capitan formations in Yosemite and Texas, I am going to primarily use El Cajon Mountain.
Getting a good image of El Cajon Mountain has eluded me for years. In some areas, private property prevents accessing a good vantage point. It was after searching that I discovered an easement and trail that heads from the valley floor up to the hills across from El Cajon Mountain.
As luck would have it, this trail was easily accessible by road, so it was not a long hike to get to a beautiful overlook.
This image only shows a portion of the entire rock massif. The mountain continues to the West (left) of this image. In addition, the fin that is being photographed actually hides the true peak of the mountain. In some ways, this overlook is TOO close to the mountain.
Still, with favorable weather and some beautiful light, watching this sunset turn the light granite into a beautiful orange for a few minutes at sunset was a treat.
As always, thank you for reading.
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.