Tag Archives: bluff

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

Solo Pelican in Flight

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Solo Pelican in Flight
Solo Pelican in Flight

Solo Pelican in Flight. North of Santa Cruz, California. May 15, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pelican in flight next to a high bluff above the Pacific Ocean coastline north of Santa Cruz, California.

I can’t tell you how many shots of pelicans I have to make to get one that is this close and well-focused! This is another in the series shot in mid-May along the California coastline near the town of Davenport, a bit north of Santa Cruz – more accurately along a bluff just south of Waddell Creek Beach, part of the Big Basin State Park.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/16000 second

keywords: pelican, pelagic, bird, animal, wildlife, nature, flight, fly, wing, sky, beak, bluff, coast, shore, pacific, ocean, highway, one, santa cruz, davenport, waddell, state, beach, park, big basin, california, usa, north america, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Pelicans in Flight

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Two Pelicans in Flight
Two Pelicans in Flight

Two Pelicans in Flight. North of Santa Cruz, California. May 15, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two pelicans in flight along high bluffs above the Pacific Ocean coast north of Santa Cruz, California.

More pelicans… These were photographed along the bluff just south of Waddell Beach, the coastal section of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. I’ve observed the pelicans – and other birds – skim past very close to the edge of the bluff and then descend to the outlet of Waddell Creek on the beach.

The light on this day was not especially conducive to landscape photography – it had been a sort of murky, gray morning – so I thought I’d use the softer light (with its tendency to reduce blown highlights and to bring out shadow detail) to try to photograph these great birds. The pelicans are often seen along the coast in California, though their numbers had seemed to decrease over the winter. On this morning it seemed like they might be increasing once again.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1600 second

keywords: pelican, pelagic, bird, sea, shore, sky, cloud, two, nature, wildlife, bif, santa cruz, county, davenport, california, usa, north america, fly, flight, wing, beak, flock, group, wild, highway, one, pacific, ocean, bluff, stock, northern

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

Headlands Near Davenport

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Headlands Near Davenport
Headlands Near Davenport

Headlands Near Davenport. California Coast. May 15, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Foggy sky along the coastal headlands near Davenport, California.

I stopped along the edge of the bluff at a spot on the California Coast Highway (highway 1) where I know that I can photograph seabirds as they cruise just feet away from the top of the cliff. Although my attention was first on the birds, I was also aware of the expansive views of the coastline from this high spot on the road, and I thought that the glowing fog-filled sky to the southwest might be worth photographing. I decided to place the horizon very low in the frame and expose so that the thin line of coastal bluffs extending into the frame from the left would be much darker than the water or the sky.

While I had a pretty good idea that this would end up as a black and white photograph – the colors in the foggy and gray conditions were not that special – I wasn’t certain when I made the exposure of just what I would do with it in post. As soon as I opened the file though I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do. In the end, for an image that might seem so simple, this photograph required quite a bit of post-processing work.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/120 second

keywords: davenport, california, usa, north america, headlands, bluff, coast, shore, surf, wave, horizon, fog, clouds, cliff, rocky, ocean, sea, shoreline, highway, one, black and white, monochrome, landscape, seascape, travel, scenic, nature, beach, shoal, minimal, sky, stock

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

Big Sur Coastline Near Soberanes Canyon

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Big Sur Coastline Near Soberanes Canyon
Big Sur Coastline Near Soberanes Canyon

Big Sur Coastline Near Soberanes Canyon. Big Sur, California. May 1, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of rugged Big Sur coastline rocks and surf near Soberanes Canyon, Garrapata State Park, California.

One more rugged shoreline photograph from my May 1 visit to the Big Sur coastline. This area is within the confines of Garrapata State Park, and very close to Soberanes Canyon. (Those who know the Soberanes Canyon trail may recognize the old barn seen faintly through the foggy haze near the upper right corner of the frame.)

I love to follow the ridgelines of these coastal mountains all the way down to the surf. Them begin high up on the steep but rounded slopes and gradually become sharper as they descend toward the ocean, being cut deeply by the streams in the bottoms of their canyons. Just above the ocean the canyons are often quite steep, though there can be a bluff right above the drop-off to the water, too. Then, at the very lowest ends of these ridges, the ocean has its effect and the softer dirt and gravel that gives them their folded forms higher up is stripped away, leaving the broken and rugged underlying rocks and they disappear into the surf.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/16, 1/160 second

keywords: big, sur, coast, coastline, soberanes, canyon, creek, black and white, monochrome, rugged, rough, rock, surf, wave, foam, garrapata, state, park, california, usa, north america, bird, gull, barn, highway, cliff, bluff, island, seascape, sea, ocean, pacific, shore, shoreline, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, monterey, carmel, stock