Category Archives: Photographs: Ocean & Coast

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

Eroded Sandstone, Point Lobos

March 29, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

Patterns in eroded shoreline sandstone rocks at the Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

The rugged Point Lobos shoreline in places exposes some very interesting rocks, including sections like this one where layers of different colored sand stone are gradually worn away, revealing underlying layers of different colors and textures and sometimes exposing surprising color contrasts. On days when the light is very soft (or very boring!) I may seek out some of these rocks and photograph them since the softer light lets details appear that might easily be washed out in harsher light.

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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.

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

Monterey Cypress Trees, Fog, Carmel Peninsula

March 28, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Carmel Peninsula is barely visible though fog beyond Monterey Cypress trees along the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve.

This was a typical summer day in coastal California – completely socked in by a thick, gray blanket of cold, wet fog! The light was somewhat dismal, so it wasn’t a day for typical “scenic” landscape or seascape photography, though the colors of the plants and trees were saturated by the soft light and the distant peninsula faded almost to monochrome though the fog across the bay.

These Monterey cypress trees grow along the tops of the rocky cliffs above this part of the Pacific Ocean, in some of the most exposed and precipitous locations imaginable. In some spots they are left exposed to the full force of the ocean winds and winter storms, and they grow close to the ground, following the contours of the rocky terrain in ways that remind me of trees growing in exposed locations near timberline in the Sierra. In other spots they are a bit more sheltered and they seem to be able to “stretch out” a bit, as these trees do along a section of the rocky cliffs that faces more into the bay than out to sea.

The bay holds the outlet of the Carmel River, and the peninsula visible across the water in the distance is the coastline of the town of Carmel. The foreground trees are within the boundaries of the Point Lobos State Reserve.

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

Row of Pelicans in Flight

February 2, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Seven pelicans fly wing-to-wing above the Pacific coastline of California.

I have been meaning to post this photograph for some time, but only now found the space to insert it into the photo stream. I made it back in May of 2010 and rediscovered it during my end-of-year review of all of my thousands of raw files from 2010.

The photograph was shot from the top of a coastal bluff on a section of highway (the “coast highway”) north of Santa Cruz, where the road climbs rather high above steep coastal cliffs. There is a spot that I know of where the birds often skim right along the top of the cliff, riding the updrafts from the ocean winds that blow onshore here. In just the right conditions, these birds come past frequently, and they are often very close to my shooting position.

Most often you’ll see them in small groups or clusters, but this group was special. They were flying wing-to-wing as they approached my position and managed to stay that way as they angled past me.

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

Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Creek, Winter

January 17, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Light winter rain falls on the rugged Big Sur coastline near Bixby Creek.

This is one more – and perhaps the final – photograph from New Years Day 2011 along the Big Sur coast line. While this is perhaps not your chamber of commerce picture perfect day, it is my kind of Big Sur day. As I made the photograph the wind was absolutely howling – so strong that I couldn’t really use my tripod, so I instead hand held the camera and braced it and myself against a very large boulder. To make things even more “fun,” it was trying very hard to rain!

The location is precisely at the spot where many of the iconic photographs of Bixby Bridge are made, at the north end of the bridge. However, on this day I thought that the subdued tones of the winter ocean and cliffs were more interesting, so I framed my photographs to avoid including the bridge.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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