Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Rocky Inlet and Surf

May 13, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Surf washes through a rocky inlet at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Yes, yet another photograph from the Day of No Tourists at Point Lobos in late April – when almost no one was there due to the closure of Highway One for the Big Sur Marathon. This little inlet/cove is not far from where I photographed the harbor seal family. I’m pretty certain I’ve visited this exact feature before, but this is the first time I’ve tried to photograph it. (I have photographed some very nearby features – they are actually visible from the same camera position.) The light was very flat – it was overcast and gray from fog – and the colors of these particular rocks did not look like they would work well in a color image, so I decided to go with black and white here. The use of a rather dark neutral density filter – that’s what allowed the long exposure – also alters to color balance in some odd ways. I made several exposures of this spot since it is virtually impossible to predict just how a long exposure of water will turn out.

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: point, lobos, california, usa, spring, monterey, peninsula, carmel, coast, pacific, state, reserve, park, nature, rocks, wave, surf, pattern, time, long, exposure, ocean, black and white, monochrome, diffused, blur, inlet, rocky, stock

Stories

A Somewhat Humorous Yosemite Story

May 12, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

When I’m out photographing I cart around the typical pile of stuff – the big, squarish bag of camera bodies and lenses and accessories, the tripod, the works. And when I photograph in popular places I make it a habit to offer to take photographs of folks with their P&S cameras. You know the scene – the family traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to get to some beautiful place, but one member of the family is missing from every photo since someone has to hold the camera. (The embarrassing thing is that sometimes I don’t understand how to operate these little cameras, but that is a story for another post.)

Put the two together and some surprising and odd conversations can ensue. Last Saturday I was in the Happy Isles area of Yosemite Valley looking for dogwood trees in bloom when I saw a mother about to snap a photo of (I presume) her daughter, so I asked if they would like me to use their camera to take a picture of the two of them together. I put down my bag and left the camera on the tripod and made the photograph. The woman inspected the photo, seemed to approve, then looked at me and my stuff and asked, “Hey, you aren’t Mr. Adams, are you?”

Sometimes it is so hard to avoid saying the wrong thing in reply, but I think I more or less succeeded… ;-)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Equipment, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Wildlife

Harbor Seal Family

May 12, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A family trio of harbor seals rests on an offshore rock at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I photographed this family group (at least they sure acted like a family!) on an offshore rock just above the surf line on the late April weekend when I almost had the whole of Point Lobos State Reserve to myself. (I wrote about this earlier – a marathon had closed the coast highway and almost no one else was in the park.) I think the seals were a bit less wary than they might be because of the very small number of people in the park – actually, I was the only person near them for a good long time. I had a great chance to observe them uninterrupted, and from two slightly different locations – after shooting from this spot I moved far to the right where I could shoot back at the far side of the rock.

I found it interesting that they were very aware of my presence and seemed to pay more obvious attention to me than I have seen in the past. The lighter color seal on the right stared right at me for long periods of time on several occasions, even though I was quite a distance away and standing nearly motionless. Once or twice all three gazed my direction. I wasn’t sure who was observing who! The darker seal on the left seemed to be the least active, only occasionally rolling around and scratching the back (yes, they do this!) of the others, especially the smaller one in the far middle in this shot.

I’m still working out the best ways to photograph creatures like these. Learning their habits a bit helps, as does arriving at the right time – in terms of season, time of day, weather, and the good fortune of being there on an uncrowded day at Point Lobos. I’d like to get shots from a lower angle, but this can be difficult. I think the seals are much less likely to be close to the shore in such places.

I have a very large number of photographs of this group, and I may post more eventually.

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: harbor, seal, young, parents, family, eyes, three, rock, shore, water, seaweed, kelp, flipper, white, gray, brown, ocean, sea, coast, wildlife, nature, whiskers, spring, rest, lie, group, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, monterey, peninsula, carmel, stock

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

Spring Grass, Point Lobos

May 11, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Spring grass in the pine forest at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Unfortunately, I’m not expert enough at plant identification to come up with a more precise title than “Spring Grass, Point Lobos.” (Yes, that is an open invitation to friendly botanists to offer up a more precise identification! :-) While I was photographing Rattlesnake Grass – photo posted recently – in this spot in the pine forest at Point Lobos I also noticed the impressive seed heads of this nearby grass. This is another of my plant photographs made with the unlikely 70-200mm zoom lens – again, the long focal length lets me work from a slightly greater distance and use the narrow DOF of the longer lens to create a nice out of focus background.

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: grass, seed, head, stalk, blade, green, forest, grove, pine, shade, spring, cluster, bokeh, blur, soft, pine, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, nature, scenic, travel, carmel, monterey, peninsula, foliage, stock

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Rocky Inlet and Surf

A Somewhat Humorous Yosemite Story

Spring Grass, Point Lobos

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