Colorful Pebbles, Layered Sandstone. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. February 17, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Two colorful pebbles rest on layered shoreline sandstone, Point Reyes Reserve
As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I visit Weston Beach at Point Lobos I often spend some time wandering around near the edge of the water, looking for interesting bits and pieces of “stuff” washed up by the winter surf. The stuff can range from small stones to kelp. Many of the stones are, not surprisingly, well-rounded from being rolled around in the surf. Occasionally a very colorful stone will show up… but here I got lucky and found these two, one deep blue and the other an intense pink-burgundy, sitting side by side in an indentation in the textured and layered shoreline sandstone.
It takes a bit of luck–and some observation–to find such things, but that isn’t quite enough. The light has to be right, too, and that isn’t always a sure thing here. It can be foggy, though that wasn’t the concern on this mid-February winter day. Since we arrived well into the morning hours, it was quite possible that as the sky cleared we would find the light far too harsh. However, luck was with us, and a high, thin layer of clouds moved in and muted the intensity of the light. I framed up this little composition and just waited for subtle changes in the light that would provide a soft shadow that was filled in with soft light.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.