Category Archives: Photographs: Nature

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

Big Sur Coastline at Bixby Creek, Winter

January 5, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A winter storm approaches the bluffs of the Big Sur coastline at Bixby Creek.

This is, as you may have noticed, the same scene as that in yesterday’s photograph – but this time in portrait mode and composed to focus on the receding edge of the land as it meets the winter sea off of the Big Sur coast. To recap, it was raining lightly and blowing hard enough to almost knock me over when I made this photograph. The wind was coming straight at my camera position out of the south. Since I figured my tripod would probably blow right over in one of the gusts, I decided to use a “natural tripod” and instead drape myself over a conveniently placed boulder and brace the camera on the top of the rock.

This is a wild section of the coastline that forces the coast highway to ascend well above the steep shoreline bluffs and cliffs. I am intrigued by the rock pile that has slid off the face of the tall cliff at the left and collected along the beach in front of and beyond the cave at the waterline. I was surprised to see a small number of footprints in the sand on this little beach!

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

Coastal Bluff, Big Sur, Winter

January 4, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Steep coastal bluffs rise about the winter surf along the Big Sur coastline near Bixby Creek.

This photograph was made on a New Years Day drive down part of the Big Sur coastline, on an afternoon when a powerful Pacific winter storm was approaching the coast. It was raining lightly as I shot this scene, and the wind was blowing so hard that I decided to forgo using a tripod (it would have blown over!) and instead crouch down on top of a boulder and manually brace the camera against the rock. If you look closely at the surface of the water you can see the effects of the gusts of high wind blowing toward my position. Not surprisingly, I think the photograph has a bit more of a “brooding” character than the typical shot from this location right next to iconic Bixby Bridge.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Plants, Shadows on Sand

January 1, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Desert plants sprout after winter rains and cast shadows across Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park.

As is all too often the case, I’m afraid that I cannot identify these plants! I found them along the fringe of the Mesquite Dunes (a.k.a. “Death Valley Dunes”) near Stovepipe Wells last spring. It had been a wet season and when I arrived there in late March plants were coming up everywhere, often in what seemed like the most unlikely places. This section of what might otherwise seem like barren sand was filled with rows of small plants that were sprouting quickly. The early morning light created an interesting pattern of long shadow.s

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Titus Canyon Road

December 31, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

I made this photograph during midday hours after walking a ways up into the canyon from its mouth – the alternative to making the very long drive over the Grapevine Mountains from Amargosa Valley. (I have done the latter a few times, too.) While most Death Valley subjects tend to be appealing in the early morning or in the evening, many of the canyons can be at their best during the middle of the day, especially the very deep and narrow canyons like lower Titus Canyon. Here the canyon narrows down to the point that there is only room of a single gravel track, and twists and turns around rocky outcroppings. The light striking the upper canyon walls – out of the range of this photograph – reflects down into the canyon and produces soft, diffused illumination.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.