Tag Archives: black and white

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

Cliffs, Ocean, Fog

May 12, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Rugged cliffs drop into Pacific Ocean surf along the foggy Big Sur coastline

In some ways, cliffs like these are a “dime a dozen” along the California coast — and isn’t that wonderful!? From the north to the south, with the exception of places where the land drops right down to the ocean, spectacular headlands are almost the rule. If you don’t see them where you are at the moment, a reasonable drive north or south should find some.

This set of headland bluffs, dropping abruptly to the edge of the great Pacific Ocean, is located on the upper Big Sur coast along the Pacific Coast Highway south of Monterey. I’m fortunate to live a short drive away, and this time I had headed down that direction in the morning, initially planning to visit a particular spot but spontaneously modifying my plans when I saw the combination of surf and fog forming along the cliffs. Since I know this spot well, I only stopped briefly, but I knew I wanted a photograph of this morning-shadowed terrain marching off to the south.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Couple on Bench

May 9, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A couple sitting on a bench outside the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

A couple of years ago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) closed for work on a major expansion and remodeling project. We have been members for some time, and I recall squeezing in one last visit before the long closure — viewing favorite works and making photographs inside the place. The big news is that the remodel is virtually finished now, and the museum officially reopens very soon, on May 14. But an opening like this doesn’t take place all at once. There is a sort of run-up to the actual event that brings people into the new facility over a period of time. As members, it was our turn (along with thousands of others) to get a preview this week.

I may have more to say about the museum in the future, but for now I’ll just say that I like it a lot — both the work exhibited (not that we saw all of it in one day!) and the building itself. There are a number of wonderful touches — many visual connections to the surrounding city (where the previous facility felt more walled off from San Francisco), lots of light, a brilliant system of stairways and spaces along the eastern side, and more. Oddly, almost none of that is in this first photograph I made at the new SFMOMA, which depicts an almost deserted new entrance and seems to show more of the surrounding city environment than the museum itself. More to come eventually…

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

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Pinnacles, Searles Valley

May 6, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trona Pinnacles, Searles Valley, Desert Mountains

These remarkable pinnacles stand just off to the side of a route I often use to get to Death Valley National Park, and that’s where I was reading on this day back in March. The pinnacles are just outside of their namesake town of Trona, a rather isolated and seemingly decaying old town whose main business seems to be extracting minerals from the playa holding Searles Lake. A drive through the town reveals that it is still alive, but that it is suffering the malady of so many isolated desert towns depending on extraction industries, namely an eventual decline. There are many buildings that have clearly just been abandoned.

The pinnacles are visible a few miles away from Trona, out in the valley just south of the lack. They appear as a long row of huge, tooth-like formations. I understand that they are ancient tufa formations, related to but much larger than the similar formations in some other well-known California locations. I have been contemplating photographing them for years, and from time to time I stop and drive out there. The main challenge has always been the lighting, and every time I’ve been there the light has been the stark, clear sky light of desert day, which is not always conducive to photography. This time that light was softened a bit but a few high clouds and some haze, and as we explored the pinnacles I saw this juxtaposition of near and far towers.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dunes and Mountains, Morning

May 3, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light on sand dunes and rugged mountains, Death Valley National Park

On our final morning in Death Valley this past March I got up before dawn one more time, loaded some gear in the car, and drove a short distance to a place from which I had decided I wanted to access sand dunes. I had been in the same area a few days earlier, and on that visit I spotted a likely looking area not far away — and that was my target this time as I walked alone across the quiet playa in pre-dawn light.

Out here the light arrives with surprising suddenness, despite the hints that it is coming, seen in light on peaks to the west and far up the valley. Silently the first light skims across dune tops, and within seconds the soft light is replaced by brighter highlights and darker shadows. Here I looked east across low dunes toward mountains along the eastern side of the valley at the base of the Amargosa Range. The morning haze and shadows on the mountains muted the their details. I photographed here for a few more minutes before packing and walking back to my vehicle, and within an hour we were on our way out of the park.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: black and white

Cliffs, Ocean, Fog

Couple on Bench

Pinnacles, Searles Valley

Dunes and Mountains, Morning

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