Tag Archives: bay

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

Shoreline Forest, Whalers Cove

July 16, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forest along the rocky shoreline of Whalers Cove with Big Sur hills rising in to the fog in the background, Point Lobos State Reserve.

At the far point on my hike last weekend I made it to the rocky point above Whalers Cove. Although it was still foggy – and it remained so all day – the light at the edge of the fog was just barely visible along the inland hills above Point Lobos. The diffused and soft light allows more of the details of the forest to be visible (rather than being lost in deep shadow) and the water of the cove was almost completely still on this very calm day.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 160mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/60 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, whalers, cover, shore, shoreline, rock, cliff, edge, tree, monterey, cypress, pine, north, trail, fog, big, sur, monterey, peninsula, carmel, hills, mountains, forest, ridge, kelp, water, bay, pacific, coast, ocean, sea, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, stock

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

North Shore Cypress Groves, Fog

July 14, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cypress groves in fog above calm seas along the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in the Carmel area on this Saturday so that I could attend a lecture by John Sexton and the opening of his show at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel. (Be sure to visit if you are in the area, and also see the Ansel Adams show at the Monterey Museum of Art.) Since I was going to be in Carmel in the late afternoon, I figured I had a good excuse to photograph in the area in the morning and then again in the evening after the show.

I arrived at Point Lobos close to opening time for the Reserve and, not surprisingly, it was foggy. The unusual element in the conditions was the ocean – it was almost dead calm with barely a wave. I tend to rush to the coast in the winter whenever the surf is going to be wild and the wind high, so the quite calm on this morning was something a bit strange for me. I set off on the North Shore trail, taking a detour over the top of Whalers Knoll, before dropping back down the the trail along the cliff tops above the surf. This photograph was taken looking back along the north shore of the park from this trail.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 65mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, cliff, water, pacific, ocean, monterey, bay, morning, kelp, shadow, rock, rugged, cypress, forest, tree, flower, nature, landscape, seascape, rock, california, usa, north america, shore, peninsula, carmel, seashore, sea, stock

Commentary, Photographs: Night

Yellow Wall with Door and Numbers

June 2, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The wall of an abandoned building with a metal door and painted numbers and text at Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Illuminated by gaudy yellow sodium vapor lamps.

It may be difficult (if not impossible) to make sense out of this image without some explanation. In a side alley off of Nimitz Street at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard I previously found a large abandoned building that is lit at night by bright and garish sodium vapor lamps. When I photographed the building the first time I shot at the end nearest to the main street, and I ended up toning down the intense yellow tones that this type of artificial lighting produces when it shines on a subject like this building. This time I went further back into the alley and near the back of the building found a strange area around an old metal door where the weathered wall and window had been covered by strange marking apparently made with spray paint – numbered squares along the lower part of the wall and, above and out of this frame, seemingly random bits of numbers and text – with all of this interrupted by crossing pipes, conduit, boards, and general decay. With nothing in the frame but the wall, here shot straight on, the bizarrely lit surface seems to me like an almost complete abstraction.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Spring Oaks and Santa Cruz Mountains – Castle Rock State Park

May 11, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Spring Oaks and Santa Cruz Mountains. Castle Rock State Park, California. April 24. 2010.

Spring Oaks and Santa Cruz Mountains - Castle Rock State Park

Panoramic photograph of oak trees with new spring growth above the Santa Cruz Mountains descending towards Monterey Bay – Castle Rock State Park.

This is the first (in order of posting) of a few stitched panoramas I made last month. I’ve thought about this shot for a while. It is from at the top of a staircase section of trail at Castle Rock State Park in California, alongside Goat Rock. From this spot you can see all the way to Santa Cruz, the Monterey Bay, and the Monterey Peninsula hills beyond. On this early spring morning the oak trees were just getting their new leaves, so it was still possible to shoot between the branches and see the distant scene where fog filled the bay.

One idea I’m currently working with – among many others – is creating very wide panoramic stitched images of subjects that would usually be shot in a taller format – especially trees. Instead of photographing the entire tree, this feels to me more like looking through the trees at the scene beyond, closer to how I might actually look at this scene if I were there.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 131mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/60 second
three image stitched panorama

keywords: oak, tree, grove, forest, trunk, branch, silhouette, spring, season, growth, new, leaves, santa cruz, monterey, mountains, hills, ridge, valley, summit, county, bay, distance, haze, goat, rock, castle, state, park, california, usa, red, green, nature, scenic, travel, stock, landscape, flora, foliage, plant, north america, west, coast, bay, area, stitched, panorama

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