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

Fog, Trees, Knoll

July 22, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Monterey Cypress trees on a rocky knoll above the Pacific Ocean in foggy morning light, Point Lobos

Driving to Point Lobos from the San Francisco Bay Area in the early morning, I was not quite sure what conditions I would find. The forecast was for fog, clearing out before noon, but you can hardly ever tell for sure how this will evolve. A few days early I had been here on a day with a similar forecast and it never cleared. On this morning, however, it turned out that the fog was actually thicker inland, and it turned out that it cleared at the coast first!

We hiked over to the north shore trail, starting at a bluff above Whalers Cove, then climbing up to the higher bluffs that skirt the north shore of the park above steep and rocky cliffs that drop straight down to coastal coves. At first the fog was gray and almost oppressive. One can photograph in such conditions, but it is difficult to work the flat light. But very soon something much better began to arrive. As the fog cleared and the fog/sun boundary moved across the shore, the foggy atmosphere began to glow, and even in this soft light the colors began to intensify.

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

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sunday Morning, Washington Square

July 21, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People sitting on a bench and reading on Sunday morning, Washington Square

On Sunday morning we walked uptown from our hotel, heading for a rendezvous with others. We could have taken a subway, but instead we decided to walk. Eventually we passed through part of the NYU campus and out into Washington Square. While it was morning, it was no longer particularly early by the time we got there, and park life was in full swing. There were many people everywhere, someone had a grand piano set up in a walkway for an outdoor recital, and several jazz groups were playing elsewhere in the park.

Around the edges, particularly near the northeast corner, things seemed a bit quieter, though there were still plenty of people. Here many of them were sitting quietly on benches, alone or in small groups. As we headed toward the park exit near this corner I passed this group of people quietly reading on one of the benches.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City

Leaves and Rain

July 20, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Leaves after rain, and the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Just for fun, nature photography from… Brooklyn, New York! I made the photograph at the Brooklyn Botanic (not “botanical!”) Garden during our visit earlier this month. We have various family members living in Brooklyn, so it is a place we visit somewhat regularly, yet we had only been to the garden one or two times in the past. As we arrived it began to cloud up, so we ducked inside, first for lunch and then to visit the O’Keeffe exhibition at the nearly museum.

Inside the museum we were cut off from the outside, but when we exited it was clear that a big line of thunderstorms had rolled through. There was water everywhere as we walked back across the park in the humidity and warmth. Along the way we passed this bed of plants and these beautifully formed leaves caught my attention. The remaining clouds made the light soft, and the water droplets from the rain still covered the leaves.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest

July 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forested bluffs drop straight down to the rugged shoreline along the north shore of Point Lobos

For the second time in less than a week I made it back to Point Lobos State Reserve again. After several days of very hot inland temperatures here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Point Lobos was attractive destination not only for its photogenic scenery but also for the promise of cool morning maritime fog. We encountered the fog well before we arrived, but perhaps an hour later it began to clear from the immediate coast, and I had perhaps a half hour of beautiful mixed light along the boundary between sun and fog.

I made this photograph at a location I know very well along the north shore trail at Point Lobos. When I was there late last week I photographed while it was still foggy and the soft light filled in the shadows. Today the filtered sunlight created more dramatic shadows, but a bit of lingering fog muted the intensity of the light and colors in the forest on the bluff above the rocky cliffs.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Fog, Trees, Knoll

Sunday Morning, Washington Square

Leaves and Rain

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest

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