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

Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Bridge

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Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Bridge
Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Bridge

Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Bridge. Pacific Coast Highway, California. January 31, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of Big Sur coastline near Bixby Creek

A trip to the Big Sur coast last week got me thinking again about the photographic possibilities of that area, and about the fact that I need to photograph there more often! I’ve visited this coast since I was a child, and perhaps because it is so familiar to me I tend to overlook it, even though it is close enough that I can be there and back in less than a day.

In addition to my more recent visit, I was there much earlier this year, back in winter when we visited in late January. So, thinking about Big Sur this week, it seemed like a good time to start going back through those older photographs to see what emerged. (While I often share some photographs immediately after shooting a subject, I also like to revisit the images months or even a year or more later, when I think I can see them more clearly for what they are sometimes.) As I looked at these older photographs they seemed to me to have potential as monochrome images, and I ended up interpreting several of them that way. This photograph was made in the morning, and from a fairly iconic overlook in the upper section of the Big Sur coast, where ridge after ridge descends to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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

Point Sur

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Point Sur
Point Sur

Point Sur. Pacific Coast Highway, California. January 31, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific Ocean surf at the Point Sur Lighthouse near the mouth of the Little Sur River.

Point Sur is a dramatic landmark along the Big Sur coastline of California south of the Monterey area, standing apart from the main land mass and attached to it by a low peninsula with sand dunes and a beach facing north toward the Pacific. Virtually every time I have passed by here the wind has been howling, often kicking up clouds of ocean spray, or else it has been fogged in. The lighthouse itself sits near the right end of the point, as seen in this photograph, with other buildings along the highest ridge. I have yet to visit the historic structure, but I often stop along this section of the coast and try to photograph the point.

I made this photograph on a winter day when those strong winds were blowing and the winter seas were battering the north facing beach. This time I looked for a higher vantage point that would show the line of surf approaching the beach and include the silhouette of the coastal hills and bluffs at the edge of the sea. This image languished in my archive for nearly half a year before I returned to this set of images and saw that it could work in a monochrome rendition, and that this might even be a more dramatic way to show this scene.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

Equipment

Updated Thoughts on Canon Ultrawide Zoom Lenses

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I have updated my blog post: “Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L Lens.” It might seem a bit strange to update an article on that subject on the heels of Canon’s introduction of a new lens that may be more interesting for many photographers, but read on…

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L

For quite a while, photographers shooting Canon full frame systems have basically had two options when it comes to Canon ultra wide zoom lenses, the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L and the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II. (Those using cropped sensor cameras have also had the option of the excellent Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Zoom Lens.) As of mid-2014 there is a new option to consider, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS.

I have ordered a copy of the new 16-35mm f/4 lens and I’ll report on that once I have had a chance to use it a bit. But given the altered terrain for those considering the purchase of a Canon ultra wide zoom, I thought that updating the review of the 17-40 was important. This lens is still a viable option for lots of photographers, especially those who are price-sensitive or who want smallest and lightest possible Canon ultra wide zoom for full frame cameras.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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

Coastal Ranch, Fog

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Coastal Ranch, Fog
Coastal Ranch, Fog

Coastal Ranch, Fog. Pacific Coast Highway, California. July 4, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fog bank above a coastal ranch in a meadow along the Pacific Coast Highway

This little meadow, filled with yellow flowers, is in the upper section of the Big Sur coast of California, where I made a very quick trip early on the morning of the Fourth of July — there and back again before most of the holiday traffic arrived. (That traffic was completely jamming all of the area roads heading the opposite direction as I returned home.)

I was a beautiful and relative quiet early morning, with low fog hugging the coast and providing a welcome contrast to the much warmer inland weather. It also was the sort of day — foggy, with bright wildflowers — that can make a Californian temporarily forget this year’s serious drought. This ranch building sits just off the main highway at the base of a couple of small valleys leading up into the coastal mountains.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.