Tag Archives: bay

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pier, Low Tide

August 7, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A pier extends across tidal flats at the edge of Tomales Bay, Inverness, California

In late July I took a day to visit Point Reyes. My main goal was a long hike over the barren bluffs above Drakes Estero, with my plan being to follow a route all the way to the coast at Drakes Bay, hopefully arriving at just about the time the fog cleared. It was a wonderful hike, with some clearing early on, but ultimately it never did clear at the coast. On a day when merely a few miles inland the temperatures rose into the 90 degree range, here in the fog and wind it never got out of the fifties, and it was almost like enjoying a winter day in July.

Before I began my hike I drove along the shore of long, narrow Tomales Bay, where the road mostly travels right along the shoreline, often only feet from the water. This bay is very sheltered, with a narrow entrance and then a long distance from there to its inner reaches. At the upper end the tides regularly turn the bay into a mudflat. I always am on the lookout for photographs as I drive this route, and as I passed this spot I caught a glimpse of the stark backlight and the brilliant reflections on the mudflat — so I turned around and headed back to make a few pictures of this pier and the building out over the way.

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

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

Meadow, Wildflowers, Cove

July 15, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A wildflower-filled meadow drops toward a cove along the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve

For various reasons it has been a while since I’ve been out to photograph the natural world — perhaps a couple of months, and my last big shoot was in early April when I spent nearly a week in Death Valley. (In the interim I have photographed other subjects, including quite a bit of urban and street photography.) Those reasons are behind me now, and I’m again turning my attention back to photographing the natural world. Today’s first foray took me to an old favorite, the Point Lobos State Reserve just south of Carmel, California.

I live little more than an hour from this area, and I’ve been visiting for decades, but there are still new things to discover about this place. For example, this was the first time that I’ve actually stopped and visited the “whalers’ cabin,” and it was the first time that I left my car behind and spent the entire time wandering the park on foot. At this time of year the weather in California can vary radically between inland areas (where it could easily be in the ninety degree range) and to coast, where it was only in the upper fifties. My plan was to get to the coast at about the time I expected the fog to break up so that I could photograph in the marvelous light on the fog-sun boundary. But it never cleared! Instead, while the temperature rose further inland, I enjoyed hours of cool and damp foggy weather. I eventually made my way — slowly, and stopping to look at many things — to the trail along the north shore of the park, and here I came upon this beautiful little meadow, still green from the past winter’s unusually heavy rainfall and filled with colorful wildflowers. The meadow led down to the edge of a rocky cliff that dropped to the Pacific Ocean below.

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

Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Tourists, Evening, San Francisco Bay

May 28, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tourists pause in the evening at the end of a pier on San Francisco Bay

I was in San Francisco to meet up with a group of fellow (mostly) street photographers, first for dinner along the fringe of Chinatown and then out to make photographs afterwards. We finished dinner and headed out before sunset, beginning by photographing in the long shadows cast by early evening light in the downtown canyons. Since many in the group wanted to photograph the waterfront we headed that direction. I was geared up more for night street photography — typically done handheld rather than with the tripod I might choose to use for architectural or urban landscape photography — but I hung in with the group anyway.

At the waterfront, after wandering in and around some buildings, the group was of a collective mind to head out on one of the pedestrian piers that juts out into the Bay. Again, this was a bit different from what I had in mind, but there is no denying the attractions of being out over the surface of the Bay as the evening comes on and things quiet down. I photographed some fishermen, a few passing boats, bridges, and back towards the urban waterfront buildings.Eventually, as it became quite a bit darker, I took a moment to photograph a small group of what I assume must have been friends, sitting out near the end of the pier and conversing in the fading light.

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Urban Fishermen, Dusk, San Francisco Bay

May 7, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of urban fishermen working from a San Francisco Bay pier finishes up for the evening

During the last weekend of April I joined a group of fellow street photography and night photography enthusiasts in San Francisco. We met up for dinner in the Chinatown district, and afterwards we wandered down to the Embarcadero and the waterfront, busy with tourists at this time of year. Ultimately we ended up in a spot very popular with such folks, a pier the affords walking access to the waters of the bay. I spent perhaps a half hour out there photographing: people, the bay, passing ships and boats, the City skyline.

These urban fisherman are a regular part of the San Francisco urban scene and they represent a sort of intersection between the human and the natural worlds. They are everywhere along the City’s waterfront, and often are fishing within earshot and “eyeshot” of the busy urban scene. Stop and think about what this means and there is a lot to ponder. Even in a busy and fast-paced place like San Fransisco, it is possible to walk a few feet and find yourself standing quietly above the bay in dusk, perhaps with a few friends — one way to help maintain sanity in the urban world. These guys appeared to be finishing up for the evening and were simply standing around and talking as they packed up and as tourists stopped to watch.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: bay

Pier, Low Tide

Meadow, Wildflowers, Cove

Urban Fishermen, Dusk, San Francisco Bay

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