All posts by G Dan Mitchell

G Dan Mitchell, photographer and visual opportunist focusing on the Pacific coast, the Sierra Nevada, redwood forests, California oak/grasslands, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography and more. Posting daily photographs since 2005, along with articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pacific Ocean, Big Sur

Image Leave a comment
Pacific Ocean, Big Sur
Looking west across the Pacific Ocean from the Big Sur mountains on a quiet autumn day.

Pacific Ocean, Big Sur. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Looking west across the Pacific Ocean from the Big Sur mountains on a quiet autumn day.

Views like this never fail to make me pause. There’s something about an expanse of “empty” earth, whether liquid or solid, that focuses the attention. It could be standing at the Arctic Circle and looking north (which I’e done only once), viewing expansive desert terrain from a mountain ridge, or looking across the ocean toward the distant horizon from a high viewpoint. I’m not sure I can articulate the attraction precisely, but it includes the immense space, the absence of obvious human presence, and the encounter with deep time in a place that has probably looked like this for what seems like forever.

Perhaps ironically, this particular view is from a spot along the Pacific Coast Highway that can be crowded ruing the high tourist season. However, on this late-autumn weekday morning there was almost no one else around, and I shared this spot with a single cyclist who had stopped for a snack at the top of the climb.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Autumn Morning, Big Sur Coast

Image Leave a comment
Autumn Morning, Big SurCoast
Spray and mist glow in morning light along the Big Sur Coast.

Autumn Morning, Big Sur Coast. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Spray and mist glow in autumn morning light along the Big Sur Coast.

Every time I visit the Big Sur coast — which I’ve been doing for decades — I manage to find something new. Sometimes it is just a different view on something that I’ve seen before — perhaps a different sort of light, unusual conditions of surf or weather, or a slightly different vantage point. Occasionally it is something that I did not know about — an obscure overlook, a juxtaposition of landscape elements, and so forth.

This location falls between those extremes. I have stopped to photograph this general area quite a few times. But there are innumerable little access points and foot paths that head out along the edge of the coastal bluffs, and this time I took one that I’ve seen many times but never followed. It took me to this overlook above a small cove backed by a series of small ridges running down to the waterline, with a taller hill in the distance.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cliffs, Morning Mist

Image Leave a comment
Cliffs, Morning Mist
Morning mist along the steep headlands cliffs of the rugged Big Sur region.

Cliffs, Morning Mist. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning mist along the steep headlands cliffs of the rugged Big Sur region.

Earlier this week I made a quick trip down the coast to the Big Sur region, getting as far south as Sur Point. This is a short enough drive for me that I can leave home early, photograph all morning, and be home for a late lunch. The conditions can vary greatly at this time of year. Often it is sunny and clear, as it was on this visit, but it can also be foggy and cold. When a big Pacific front rolls through, watch out —huge waves roll in and landslides can close the coast highway. One thing I did not have was the all-too-common summer crowds —a late fall weekday morning is not crowded at all.

The photograph includes a familiar section of the Big Sur coast, and it is visible from another well-known icon. (I think I did all that I could do with that famous subject years ago… and now this nearby terrain interests me more.) Here the road rises to a high point, and tall cliffs drop abruptly to the ocean from the tall bluffs. A bit of fog and mist softened the morning light.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New England

Lake and Sky, New Hampshire

Image Leave a comment
Lake and Sky, New Hampshire
“Lake and Sky, New HampshireWater lilies, reflected sky, and autumn colors at a New Hampshire Lake.

You may have seen a different version of this scene rendered in black and white — I posted it not long after our return from photographing New England fall color this year. During the first days of our visit we photographed in the iconic Kancamagus Highway region between Concord and Lincoln — and it was, as predicted, quite spectacular… and quite crowded. But then we explored a bit more widely, and we stopped to photograph this lake on a long loop that took us much farther north in New Hampshire.

There’s one other semi-notably thing about this photograph — I made it on an iPhone 14. I’m not giving up my Big Boy Cameras any time soon, but on this trip I played around with using the iPhone to capture some subjects — quick panoramas, record shots, photographs after dark. In a few cases, in addition to setting up the big camera and tripod, I put the iPhone in raw-capture mode and made a few photographs just to see what it could do. The answer? Quite a bit!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)