Tag Archives: big sur

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

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Horizon

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Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Horizon
Pacific Ocean surf breaks over coastal rocks, backed byt the distant horizon.

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Horizon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Pacific Ocean surf breaks over coastal rocks, backed byt the distant horizon.

This may be the final photograph in a recent series of images from a short visit to the upper Big Sur Coast during a brief break between our recent storms. It was just one morning, but after being kept mostly inside by a stream of closely-spaced storms, it seemed like time to get out!

While there were no storms on this day, the effects of the past storms were everywhere — downed trees, landslides, damaged roadways. And the next one was already starting to arrive, muting the light, sometimes making the atmosphere a bit murky, and generating large surf from the northwest.

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

Grove Above the Surf

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Grove Above the Surf
A small grove of old trees above the surf and silhouetted against the fog-muted shapes of coastal hills, Big Sur Coast.

Grove Above the Surf. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A small grove of old trees above the surf and silhouetted against the fog-muted shapes of coastal hills, Big Sur Coast.

This grove of trees sits on the edge of a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean along a popular section of the Big Sur Coast. In most cases, I have usually regarded it as a bit of an obstacle, as I have to sort of work around it to photograph certain features in the area. (In fact, I also sometimes have to “work around” a small herd of cattle that sometimes grazes in the foreground meadow!) On this visit I decided to turn the tables and make the trees the subject.

This was an interesting day, and photography was at times a bit challenging. I visited during a one-day break in the string of atmospheric river storms that hit California between late December and January, and I managed to squeeze in a single morning of photography here. Damage from the storms was easy to find, with landslides and road repairs along the way. But on this morning occasional sun broke through the high overcast and made the thin fog luminous.

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

Headlands, Cliffs, and Winter Surf

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Headlands, Cliffs, and Winter Surf
Wiinter surf breaks along a wide beach at the base of coiastal cliffs and headlands, Big Sur Coast.

Headlands, Cliffs, and Winter Surf. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Winter surf breaks along a wide beach at the base of coiastal cliffs and headlands, Big Sur Coast.

Even after decades of exploring and photographing along this section of the California coast, I still find new viewpoints on almost every visit. I don’t know that there is an actual infinity of such places, but there surely are enough of them to keep one busy for an entire lifetime. As I drive along the Coast Highway I’m constantly on the lookout — sometimes to the distress of my passengers — for a new pull-out, a trail leading toward the bluffs, a high point that might provide a view, a variation on a view that I’m familiar with.

On this January visit I passed this area twice as the result of looping back to check out another possible location. So when I approached the second time I was thinking about this wide beach and trying to spot a place that might overlook it. I stopped and made a short walk out to this camera position — staying even farther than usual away from cliff edges, given their less-than-reliable condition after all of the recent rain!

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

Surf #1

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Surf #1
Abstract patterns of winter surf, Big Sur coast, California.

Surf #1. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Abstract patterns of winter surf, Big Sur coast, California.

This photograph comes from a recent visit to the Monterey Peninsula and upper Big Sur Coast during a brief break in the recent string of atmospheric river storms in California. On one hand, it was quite something to see the aftermath of several weeks of heavy rains: landslides, fallen trees, closed parks, closed highway lanes, flooding, and more. But between two storms the light was a bit challenging — which had the virtue of persuading me to try a few things different than what I typically do.

This is one of the photographs in that category. I had been photographing along a section of the coast with high cliffs above the ocean (which, as Big Sur aficionados know, could be almost anywhere…) and dealing with lighting challenges and atmosphere thick with moisture. I looked down and was taken by the power of the waves. The area in the photograph was just at the break, so this power was expressed as constant motion as storm swells rolled in and some foam from nearby breaking waves streaked 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.

Blog | About | Twitter | 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.