After a morning of taking photographs along the California coast at Asilomar Beach, my wife and I headed south on California Highway 1. Our destination for the evening was Morro Bay, about a 3-hour drive.
We made multiple stops along the coast, stopping at the numerous viewpoint pullouts along the historic Cabrillo Highway.
One very scenic viewpoint (which I found out later was a popular spot) was near the Bixby Creek Bridge.
From the pullout near the bridge, a beautiful coast view looks southward. The cliffs drop several hundred feet from the overlook to the Pacific Ocean below. Sea stacks dot the coastline.
After making my coastline photograph, I turned my attention to the bridge.
To get away from crowds and get another perspective of the bridge, we drove up the dirt road that led up the canyon. A short distance up from the highway, I found a pullout where I took this photo.
I wanted to photograph the entire bridge without traffic, but this was not easy, even mid-week in October.
To achieve my goal of no traffic, I blended two photographs in Photoshop to eliminate the unwanted vehicles for a cleaner image. I rarely use this technique in my photography; this case was an exception.
Whenever I photograph an iconic location or other popular, crowded location, I attempt to personalize the scene as much as possible, seeking a different angle or view of the subject. Other times, my processing techniques (i.e., black and white) differentiate my photos.
About the Bixby Creek Bridge.
The Bixby Creek Bridge, also known as Bixby Canyon Bridge, is on the Big Sur coast of California. It is one of the most photographed bridges in California because of its aesthetic design.
The bridge, located 120 miles south of San Francisco and 13 miles south of Carmel in Monterey County along State Route 1, opened to the public in 1932.
At 360 feet, the bridge was the longest concrete arch span in the California State Highway System. Also, when completed, it was the highest single-span arch bridge in the world. Still, to this day, it remains one of the tallest.
Overall, the bridge measures 714 feet in total length and 24 feet wide, with 260 feet (79 m) of clearance below.
