Category Archives: Photographs: Nature

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Creekside Trail, Central California

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Creekside Trail, Central California

Creekside Trail, Central California. Calero Hills, California. February 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A creekside trail through forest of oak and laurel trees at Calero County Park, California.

After a long – but welcome! – bout of rainy weather here in Central California, last weekend I managed to get out for a hike in my favorite local oak/grassland park. It was a cloudy day with very diffused light, but I decided to do a bit of photography with my new camera – but instead of taking my usual complement of lenses I carried only three primes, at 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. This photograph was made with the 35mm lens and an interesting aspect of the scene for for me was the incredibly rich detail of new growth, old leaves on the forest floor, and the many small branches of trees and brush. (I’m afraid that much of that detail isn’t visible in this small jpg, but there isn’t much to be done about that.)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: calero, hills, park, santa clara, county, public, path, trail, creek, brook, water, reflection, oak, laurel, tree, forest, grove, leaf, trunk, branch, hike, winter, california, usa, nature, landscape, green, new, plants, growth, damp, stock, foliage, vegetation, root

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

Birds and Winter Surf

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Birds and Winter Surf

Birds and Winter Surf. South of San Francisco, California. January 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Birds congregate along a stream with winter surf and bluffs above the Pacific Coastline in the distance – south of San Francisco, California.

I frequently stop along this section of the Pacific Coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, in a location where the road descends to almost the level of the beach. On this winter day the low clouds and fog were backlit by the sun as large winter surf rolled in. These birds appeared to be feeding in the creek near where it entered the surf and were just starting to take to the air as I exposed this photo.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: seascape, landscape, beach, bluff, surf, wave, pacific, ocean, coast, sand, water, reflection, bird, gull, flock, flight, creek, stream, hill, seaweed, two, people, highway, one, california, usa, fog, mist, cloud, travel, scenic, stock, black and white

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Dry Grasses, Morning Light

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Dry Grasses, Morning Light

Dry Grasses, Morning Light. Calero Hills, California. February 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Golden dry grasses in morning light at Calero Hills, California.

I photographed these grasses and seeds near Castillero Pond at Calero on yet another sunny and dry winter morning on the first day of February.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: golden, brown, grasses, seeds, stem, leaf, morning, light, bokeh, blur, blade, calero, hills, santa clara, county, park, winter, california, usa, nature, foliage, plant, landscape, scenic, stock

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

Egret, China Cove

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Egret, China Cove

Egret, China Cove. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. December 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An egret in flight over China Cove – last evening of autumn 2008, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

On the last evening of fall 2008 I visited Point Lobos to photograph whatever I might see there. Late in the day I walked along the trail above China Beach and spotted a solitary egret in the kelp just beyond the beach. The cove was in deep shade and I had a long lens attached to the camera and was set to the lowest ISO when the bird took off – so I had no choice but to shoot with what I had. There was little time to think and no time to make changes to camera settings. I managed to get a few exposures as the bird rose into the air above the kelp beds, but they turned out to be quite underexposed as I was caught between the rock of low light and the hard place of needing short enough shutter speeds for a moving bird in a dark cove. In this one image the bird’s wings are extended and it is passing out of a dark section of the cove and over slightly brighter water.

To me, the nearly pure white bird, slightly diffused by the odd exposure and over the darker water, seems like a ghost or an apparition. Although it is not anything like a technically “correct” photograph, I still like it for what it is.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: big sur, california, carmel, Fall, monterey, nature, ocean, pacific ocean, point lobos, seashore, bird, in flight, egret, wing, china cove, kelp, water, state, reserve, park, usa, travel, scenic, landscape, black and white, monterey, peninsula, carmel, big sur, stock