Pacific Ocean fog laps at the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains, as a purple California twilight settles in above.

The coastal fog of Northern California brings moisture to the flora on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains, making the landscape less dry than the precipitation totals would suggest. From high above in Russian Ridge (which isn’t always above the fog), it seems to me that the thick blanket of Pacific Ocean fog is more a part of the land and sea than the sky. While the humidity of the fog can be choking when you’re in it, the view from up here shows clearly that the moisture barely reaches above the ground. The sky beyond is as vacant as can be, free to transition undisturbed into twilight.

Purchase “Fading Light over the Pacific Ocean Fog” Fine Art Print: