It would be more accurate for me to say that I go out on drives and take photos than that I drive to take photos. I'm fortunate enough to live close to roads with some amazing views. My car may not be the fastest(it isn't bad either), but I do like the feeling I get driving it through the roads and turns. The most accurate description I can give it is the one Tiffany gave me when I asked her if her car was fast, I make it go fast.
My favorite road to go on drives is Skyline Blvd. To get up to Skyline, you first start by driving up highway 9, which is also a fun road to drive on. The main difference between highway 9 and Skyline, other than the uphill on 9, would be that Skyline is more stretched out, making the turns a little more fun.
For this drive, I was hoping the fog would be high enough to look good from Russian Ridge. Unfortunately, the fog was lower than I had expected, so I decided that I would just keep driving and hope for something better. I still managed to capture these couple of photos before the sun came up. The fog was moving quick, but unfortunately I was to far to get good long exposures.
I knew Windy Hill is at a bit lower elevation, so I quickly drove over for the sunrise. I had never actually hiked at Windy Hill, but I knew whichever path I chose, I needed to go down. After turning one of the corners I saw the sun and realized I was heading in the right direction. After only a short hike, I found a small patch with an opening that I set myself on to shoot the sun on.
By being so close to the level of the fog, I was able to capture some rim lighting on it. I captured a small timelapse that unfortunately did not come out the way I wanted it to. I always forget to change my camera to manual focus to prevent it from losing it during the time lapse. Fortunately, I did not take too long of a time lapse, so I was still able to photograph for most of the sunrise.
I was able to capture the fog waves as they rolled over Palo Alto.
I walked down a little further as the sunrise came to an end. The clouds quickly lost their color but I did see some sun rays pass over the hills.
Last photo before I began the long walk back up the hill.
Location
Russian Ridge
Windy Hill