Tag Archives: bay

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

Winter Surf, Asilomar Beach, Twilight

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Winter Surf, Asilmar Beach, Twilight - Pacific Grove, California.
Winter Surf, Asilomar Beach, Twilight

Winter Surf, Asilomar Beach, Twilight. Pacific Grove, California. December 19, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf at twilight at Asilomar Beach, Pacific Grove, California.

I was in the Monterey Peninsula area for several days in mid-December for mostly non-photographic reasons, but I managed to get away and make some photographs on several occasions. On this evening I had just enough time to quickly head over to the Pacific Grove area at Asilomar Beach in the evening. I arrived a bit before sunset and quickly found a spot with several photographic possibilities.

I began by shooting along a the beach toward the setting sun, and including the figures of lots of people who were out strolling along this beach. I though that the silhouettes of the people were interesting, along with the colors of the late-day sky and their reflections on the water and the wet areas of the sand. After the sun dropped below the horizon I mostly stopped photographing people – my shutter speeds had to be too low to stop their motion – and I began to work with longer exposures that allowed the water to blur to a greater or lesser extent, while focusing more on the intense colors of the post-sunset period.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer 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: Ocean & Coast

Twilight, Monterey Bay

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Twilight, Monterey Bay
Twilight, Monterey Bay

Twilight, Monterey Bay. Pacific Grove, California. December 19, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Post-sunset light over the winter surf of Monterey Bay, California.

I’ve had some opportunities to photograph in the Monterey and Big Sur area this week. For the most part, it has been a bit tricky as the light has been less than cooperative. I was out and about early on this day but ended up spending a couple hours looking for photographs… and never found one! (I did find some very interesting locations that I had to previously visited, however, and I think I’ll be heading back to photograph them in the future when I have better light.)

In the evening I thought that I might just head over to the coast line along Pacific Grove. Initially I stopped to photograph along a beach near Asilomar, where people were walking toward the sunset, the surf was impressive, and the shoreline sand reflected the colors of the sky. Then I turned to my right and thought that I might try another minimalist seascape, this time by waiting until the sun had set and the light diminished to the point that I could make some relatively long exposures. I anchored the scene with the bit or rock at the lower left corner and then tried to time my long exposures for moments when the rocks would be all or partially uncovered. By the time I finished shooting it was almost too dark to see my camera!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer 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: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky

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Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky
Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky

Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky. San Francisco, California. December 10, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn light gently lights the morning clouds about San Francisco Bay haze and Alcatraz island.

After photographing the lunar eclipse over the Golden Gate Bridge – along with many hundreds of other photographers – I stuck around and turned my attention to other subjects, too. As sky began to lighten with the approaching dawn, and the eclipsed moon sank into the high clouds and generally murky atmosphere over the Pacific coast, I began to see other photographers look around and notice other elements of this urban landscape. But, surprisingly the larger number simply packed up their gear and left as soon as it became hard to see the moon!

I was quite surprised, to say the least. One one hand, it was something to see that so many photographers and other viewers had gotten up at a very early pre-dawn hour just to assemble and together watch this celestial event. On the other, once along the shore of this beautiful bay at sunrise on a mysteriously hazy morning, I’d expect that they might want to look around and try to sustain the experience. (OK, it was cold. They probably wanted coffee. And breakfast. But, still!) In any case, within a surprisingly short period of time, where people had been lined up almost tripod-to-tripod a few minutes earlier, there were few at all left to see the sunrise color come to the high clouds above the bay, here with the misty shape of Alcatraz along the horizon.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer 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.

Commentary, Community, Events, News, Shows

The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit

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The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit
Opening Reception: November 9, 2011, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
Free

Exhibit runs through December 3rd.

Harvey Milk Photo Center
50 Scott Street, Duboce Park
San Francisco, California 94117
(415) 554-9522

“In 1991, ten pioneering Bay Area photographers displayed their work as “The Nocturnes” in a curated show on night photography. Twenty years later, The Nocturnes are still having “full moon gatherings”, educating new photographers, and enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded artists that realize that some of the best photos are taken after the sun sets. This curated exhibit is a retrospective on the work of some of the most well-known night photographers as well as those just getting started.” (From the event web site.)

I’m pleased to say that two of my prints will be included in this show. If you are a San Francisco Bay Area night photographer, a fan of night (and other) photography, or happen to be visiting the area, I invite you to drop in and see some wonderful night photography by a diverse and talented group of photographers. Maybe I’ll see you at the opening reception on November 9!