Bixby Bridge - Big Sur, California

One of the most beautiful drives in the United States is the Pacific Coast Highway in California. While this road is 656 miles long, there are stretches between Los Angeles and San Francisco that are absolute gems. In particular, the stretch of road between San Luis Obispo to Carmel is an official National Scenic Byway and is known as Big Sur and seems to be everyone’s favorite. The most photographed feature of Big Sur is Bixby Bridge. Built in 1932, it is one of the highest bridges of its kind in the world, soaring 260 feet above the bottom of a steep canyon carved by Bixby Creek. Almost everyone who drives this road for the first time stops to take a photo of it. The classic shots of the bridge are typically from a distance, either driving north or south where you can see the road leading to the bridge. I have driven this route countless times and was looking for a different perspective to shoot. Upon parking at the bridge, I saw that two people (among the hundreds that were there) had climbed to a spot high behind the bridge. Climbing up to see the view looking south, I found the different perspective that I was seeking.