Category Archives: Photographs: Ocean & Coast

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

Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coastline

February 3, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The receding ridges of the Big Sur coastline arc southward into winter haze beyond a pair of large sea stacks.

On the final day of January we did the “down and back” drive through the Big Sur area of California’s Pacific Coast Highway. This is my favorite time of year in this part of California. At one point along the drive I made a comment (as I often do while passing through here at this time of year) about how this weather felt more like a “typical summer day” than like a “typical winter day” – and then I quickly caught myself and recalled that “typical summer days” here often feature thick fog, wind, and cold. On the other hand, between Pacific storms – or during a dry year like this one – a typical winter day may feature brilliant sunshine and long vistas and temperatures that are as warm as those of summer here.

As the day developed I shifted from looking for the effects of first and early light coming over ridges and into canyons, or the thinning offshore clouds. Instead I started to think about the long coastal vistas, the intense reflection of the ocean seen from high places (which always makes me think of molten metal), and the way that the backlit atmosphere highlights receding ridges as they disappear into the distance. As we came over one of the high points and around the corner the road began to drop and this view appeared in front of us, with two sea stacks in the foreground (one of which contains a natural arch) and the rugged coastline curving toward the south.

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

Beyond the Golden Gate

January 30, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The Pacific Ocean and western horizon outside the Golden Gate

A day trip to San Francisco began with a plan to see the David Hockney exhibition at the De Young Museum – important since the show was in its last few days. After spending several hours at this wonderful show, we came up with a vague plan to go somewhere and perhaps photograph something before dark. With a bit less than two hours to go and no more plan than that to go on, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to the north and were distracted by the idea of an espresso stop. By now there wasn’t a lot of time left before sunset, so we simply reversed course and headed back toward the bridge, where we did the “usual thing” and headed up into the Marin Headlands.

This is probably one of the very most popular area tourist destinations in the evening, since these hills north of the Golden Gate provide a classic and romantic view through the Golden Gate Bridge and back toward San Francisco – at least when it isn’t foggy. Since I know this area well, and in all kinds of conditions, at this point I was thinking more about simply enjoying the evening than about making photographs, and when we found a place to stop and park I left my camera equipment in the car. I looked toward The City and decided that I wasn’t going to photograph it… but as I looked to the west I saw some things that did seem a bit more interesting. At first I focused on the silhouette of more westerly cliffs as they dropped down to meet the Pacific. Then, after the sun had set, I decide to go ahead and just photograph the immense surface of the Pacific Ocean, reflecting sky colors and fading into the haze at the horizon.

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

From 2008: Winter Surfers, Northern California

January 24, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Since the 2014 Mavericks surf competition is on for today, I’m reposting a favorite surfer photograph of mine from 2008, along with descriptive text. Enjoy!

Two surfers near the edge of the winter surf in central California near San Francisco. Black and white.

As I write this description a half dozen years after making the photograph it is the day of another Mavericks surf competition, and I remember distinctly the day I made the photograph and the experience of making it. The location is somewhat typical of the California Coast Highway, along with the road alternates between ascending along the edges of high coastal mountains and dropping down to small beaches where creeks and rivers enter the sea. This beach is one of those latter locations, in this case one I frequently visit when I photograph along the coast south of San Francisco.

My favorite time of year along this coast is the winter, and for a diversity of reasons. Contrary to the expectations of non-Californians, summer is not the most beautiful time on the coast. In summer the coast is frequently socked in by fog, and the clear days are so clear that there may be no clouds – a lovely thought for all but perhaps the photographers, who often wants more “interesting” conditions. In the winter the ocean can become a powerful force, with winds whipping the tops of huge waves as storms near and far stir things up. While the summer coast can seem benign, the winter coast can present us with scenes of tremendous, awe-inspiring power. But it can also be quiet and moody as it was on this day. Yes, the surf was running high (which is why the Mavericks surf competition was going on a few miles north of this spot on the day I made the photograph), but winter clouds muted the colors, the sounds of birds and water were everywhere. These two surfers walked quietly along the beach, seeming a part of this beautiful scene. (Revised description written January 24, 2014)

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco

Marin Headlands, Winter Evening

January 24, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Golden evening haze over the Pacific Coast below the rugged cliffs of the Marin headlands

How we ended up here on this evening in a slightly complicated and random story. Our main goal was to go San Francisco’s De Young Museum, where the big show of David Hockney’s work was entering its final days – we had been planning to go but somehow the time passed and it was now or never. I’d write, “It is a great show and you should go…” but it is too late! Hockney’s work is engrossing and compelling and includes subjects that a landscape photographer can identify with. (Hockney’s relationship to photography is interesting and, it seems, a bit complex. He is known for some photo collages that he created, yet he disparages photography or at least the way photography is often done. He apparently said something about photography along the lines of it being fine if you want to view the world from the point of view of a paralyzed cyclops. Ouch!)

We spent a few hours in the exhibit and then it was mid afternoon. There were still a couple of hours of light left, so we decided to head across the Golden Gate Bridge, but with only the vaguest of plans in mind. (Basically the plan consisted of “Coffee and then look for something before the light is gone.”) By the time we got over there and were ready to look for light, we realized that we had only a short time before the light would go and we would have to head back over the bridge to get dinner. (We had reservations at a favorite Indian restaurant.) We realized that we had only enough time to drive up into the headlands on our way to the bridge, so up Conzelman Road we went. I missed a mysterious and ominous photograph of a large freighter in the haze outside the Golden Gate since I wasn’t able to find a place to stop and park – but we finally managed to park the car and get out and look around. I did not take my camera gear out at first, since I have more than enough photographs of The City and the bridge at sunset, but soon I became interested in the backlit glow around the rugged cliffs dropping to the water to the west and then the expanse of glowing, hazy air stretching over the water towards the horizon, where water and sky merged invisibly.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coastline

Beyond the Golden Gate

From 2008: Winter Surfers, Northern California

Marin Headlands, Winter Evening

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