“I inherited photography as my birthright. But I’m a color photographer. That’s what I do. Whether you like it or not. There is nothing wrong with black or white, but I’m into color and I like it!”
~ Cole Weston
Big Sur is one of the most breathtaking places in the world, and two stand out photographs come to mind. One is, without question, Cole’s greatest picture. Taken on a fiercely blustery day in early 1958, it captures the elemental drama of ocean and land meeting in their most powerful form. A masterful composition in which the crashing wave echoes the shape of the distant rock, as if nature itself were briefly in perfect harmony.
Another knockout image that comes to mind when I think of the stunning Pacific Coast. Henry Gilpin’s extraordinary photograph of the Big Sur coastline. This image truly stands alone as perhaps one of the greatest photographs ever made of Highway 1 in Big Sur. The silver, serpentine roadway winds through fog-shrouded ridges, while sunlight glistens on the rough sea below. There are no people, no cars — for this rare, quiet moment, the road is wholly yours.