Tag Archives: beach

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

Winter Surf and Coastal Bluffs

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Winter Surf and Coastal Bluffs
Winter surf rolls in beneath steep shoreline bluffs along the rugged Big Sur coast of California.

Winter Surf and Coastal Bluffs. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf rolls in beneath steep shoreline bluffs along the rugged Big Sur coast of California.

Although I have been down this section of California’s spectacular coast in the past few weeks, this photograph comes from a few years ago — in a very different time when many of the things causing tumult in our world were almost inconceivable. Among them, back then the idea that a pandemic might change our attitudes about traveling to such places was not even on our radar. Let’s hope that we can return to a world more like that one soon.

I think of this as a somewhat generic photograph of the Big Sur coastline — not because it isn’t a spot of great beauty, but because such places are everywhere along this part of the western edge of the continent. The sun was out on this late winter day, but storms out in the Pacific had brought impressively large waves, raising a thin layer of sea spray along the edge of the water.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sur Point Lighthouse, Winter

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Winter surf below Sur Point and the Sur Point Lighthouse.

Sur Point Lighthouse, Winter. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf below Sur Point and the Sur Point Lighthouse.

As happens from time to time, I made a series of photographs of this subject on this winter day. One advantage of digital photography is that it is possible — and useful! — to make quite a few exposures of transient subject like water and clouds whose precise appearance is difficult to predict and for which precise timing is almost impossible. While I’ve seen photographers make hundreds of exposures of really active subjects such as moving water, this one wasn’t quite so difficult — just a series of waves moving up onto the beach and the varying qualities of the drifting spray. My first inclination was to share a different photograph from the set, which I did perhaps a few weeks ago. But now, in looking at the files more closely, I’ve changed my mind and I think I prefer this one.

At any time of year the light along this section of the California coast can be quite interesting. Because the coast doesn’t run on a perfect north-south line, instead angling to the east as you head south, for much of the day offshore features are backlit to a greater or lesser extent. (The sun also reflects off the ocean’s surface in wonderful ways, even at midday when the sun is directly south.) This meant that the rocky shape of Sur Point was deeply backlit, and exposing for the shadow details would risk losing details in the rest of the scene — so I decided to treat it as more of a silhouette. (Some details are visible, though hard to see in a web version.) In the end, that nearly black form may help enhance the visibility of the mist and spray being blown from the big winter surf.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Sur, Winter Light

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Point Sur, Winter Light
Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

Point Sur, Winter Light. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

This photograph is at the historic Point Sur, a rocky hill that would be a monumental sea stack if it were not still tenuously connected to the mainland by a low, sandy peninsula. (I’ve always wondered how often that peninsula has been overtopped by huge storm surf or perhaps an occasional tsunami.) The lighthouse at the upper left is part of a more extensive set of structures erected decades ago to support the isolated lighthouse keepers. Long ago it was considered to be so remote that it was resupplied by ships that arrived every few months, and the keepers and their families had to be essentially self-sufficient.

Point Sur has a tremendous physical presence along this section of the rugged coast. Before and after it the steep hills and cliffs are momentarily interrupted by low headlands, so it stands out against this flatter landscape.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Wildlife

Elephant Seals in Surf

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Elephant Seals in Surf
Two young elephant seals sparring in the surf at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Elephant Seals in Surf. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two young elephant seals sparring in the surf at Point Reyes National Seashore.

This pair of young elephant seals was part of a larger group hanging out along the beaches inside the bay at Point Reyes National Seashore. The group was on a beach at the bottom of a steep hillside, so they were protected from human intrusion not only by law but also by terrain. I watched them for some time as they cavorted (or whatever it is they do) on the beach and in the shallow shoreline water.

While I can claim no expertise in elephant seal behavior, this pair appeared to be conducting a mild version of the often-violent sparring that goes on between the huge adult males. They position themselves face to face, then raise their heads with mouths agape and pointed toward the sky, sometimes pushing their necks into one another and occasionally biting.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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