Tag Archives: beach

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

Surf, Sand, and Fog

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Surf, Sand, and Fog
A wave breaks on a Big Sur coast beach on a foggy morning.

Surf, Sand, and Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A wave breaks on a Big Sur coast beach on a foggy morning.

This may be one of the “quieter” photographs I’ve posted in a while, but maybe that’s a good thing. It comes from another recent visit to the Big Sur Coast below Monterey, California. While it has been historically hot and dry in virtually all of California this year, the coastal areas have provided a welcome exception. Even on some of the days when heat (and dryness) records were toppling further inland, along much of the coast it was typical summer weather, cool and foggy. (Some folks are now referring the the current month as “Fogust.”)

We live in a San Francisco Bay Area location that, while not on or ever all that close to the water, is near enough to pick up the ocean influence, which here typically means high fog in the mornings and a breeze in the evening. On the day of this visit to the coast there was fog (and some wildfire smoke and haze) almost everywhere, but it was the thin sort that simply mutes and softens the features of the landscape rather than rendering them invisible. I stopped here to photograph something else, and after finishing that task I looked at the beach and saw this very quiet and peaceful scene of a bit of beach, a single breaking wave, and the ocean extending toward the foggy horizon.

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

Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog

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Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog
Thinning morning fog above sea stacks and bluffs along the Big Sur coast.

Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thinning morning fog above sea stacks and bluffs along the Big Sur coast.

Because I am fortunate to live close to some rather famous places I often find myself at certain photographic icons. Over time I have developed an odd relationship with such places — a sort of love/hate relationship. I recognize why they have become icons, and acknowledge that in many circumstances they are truly amazing places, locations that any visitor to these various parks and other locations will want to see. But over a long period of time two things changed in my thinking about them as a photographer. First, there are so many photographs of such locations that it is probably not a good use of my time to rephotograph them. (To new photographers, it certainly can be a good exercise to photograph them, if for no other reason that to think about how the great photographs of these places were made.) The second change is that, to a certain extent, they start to seem less special.

I have written before about, for example, how I most often drive past the famous tunnel view in Yosemite without even stopping. (I’ve also written about a memorable occasion when witnessing someone else’s reaction to seeing this view for the first time reminded me of what an astonishing thing it is.) Because I have visited the Big Sur coast for decades, I’m less and less inclined to stop for icons… and I’m more likely to stop at random, odd turn-outs just to see what new thing I might find. But this week as I drove past this spot and looked to my right the combination of blue water, drifting fog, and thin light on the foreground rocks persuaded me to quickly pull over and photograph this… icon.

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: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Mendocino Bay Bluffs, Morning

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Mendocino Bay Bluffs, Morning
Morning light on Mendocino Bay and rocky coastal bluffs.

Mendocino Bay Bluffs, Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on Mendocino Bay and rocky coastal bluffs.

Mendocino still seems to have some of the feeling of the California coast from some decades ago. When I was quite young my family used to visit Carmel, and back then it seemed like a very different and more intimate place than the touristy mob scene that it has become now. While Mendocino is most certainly a place that attracts and relies on the tourist trade, it still feels more like a real place than something contrived. It is small. There aren’t that many restaurants. Most of the lodgings are relatively unobtrusive.

It also is just about as close to the ocean as you can get in such a town along this part of the coast. To make this photograph I got out of bed, got dressed, (likely paused for coffee), headed out the door, and walked about five minutes to the edge of the coastal bluffs. There was hardly anyone else there — perhaps they were busy enjoying brunch still. The photograph looks along the edge of Mendocino Bay, back toward the outlet of the Big River.

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, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Stream and Islands, Mile 337

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Stream and Islands, Mile 337
A stream crosses the sand to enter the Pacific Ocean among immense shoreline rocks and island and their reflections, Oregon coastline.

Stream and Islands, Mile 337. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A stream crosses the sand to enter the Pacific Ocean among immense shoreline rocks and islands and their reflections, Oregon coastline.

Last month we spent time in far Northern California photographing redwood forests and coastal subjects. Several things inevitably happen on these visits. One is that we always remark how this area feels more like Oregon than California. Another is that we often head up to and across the Oregon border. On the most recent trip we took a drive to the north one evening, but we mostly explored areas just south of the stateliness and when we reached the boundary we turned around. But this photograph comes from a previous trip on which one of these “short drives” took us a good distance up the Oregon coast.

This is a striking spot along that Oregon coastline — and it was even more appealing since there were a couple of people riding horses on this beach when we passed by. (They are not seen in this photograph… in case you were looking for them.) Like so many of these beautiful spots, this one is not marked as any sort of icon, and I did not know its name or even if it has one… so I made a photograph of milepost 337 when I finished photographing to help me remember.

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.

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.