Tag Archives: bluff

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

Cliff, Surf, and Incoming Storm

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Cliff, Surf, and Incoming Storm
The clouds from an incoming winter storm fill the sky beyond Pacific Ocean surf and a coastal cliff.

Cliff, Surf, and Incoming Storm. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The clouds from an incoming winter storm fill the sky beyond Pacific Ocean surf and a coastal cliff.

Knowing that a sequence of Pacific storms was on its way, and that this might cut into opportunities for photography for a while, I headed over the hill to the nearest part of the Pacific coast, the section north of Santa Cruz. This is quite familiar territory for me now — I have been going there for decades. While the big surf was expected, the atmospheric conditions were unusual, with thick coastal haze and high clouds from the storm starting to mute the light and shift its colors.

I often note that even in very familiar locations I can still find new perspectives. I’ve stopped and wandered at this beach more times than I can remember, but this is the first time I’ve been to this particular overlook where the small stream enters the ocean at the base of a cliff below coastal bluffs.

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

Autumn Morning, Big Sur Coast

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Autumn Morning, Big SurCoast
Spray and mist glow in morning light along the Big Sur Coast.

Autumn Morning, Big Sur Coast. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Spray and mist glow in autumn morning light along the Big Sur Coast.

Every time I visit the Big Sur coast — which I’ve been doing for decades — I manage to find something new. Sometimes it is just a different view on something that I’ve seen before — perhaps a different sort of light, unusual conditions of surf or weather, or a slightly different vantage point. Occasionally it is something that I did not know about — an obscure overlook, a juxtaposition of landscape elements, and so forth.

This location falls between those extremes. I have stopped to photograph this general area quite a few times. But there are innumerable little access points and foot paths that head out along the edge of the coastal bluffs, and this time I took one that I’ve seen many times but never followed. It took me to this overlook above a small cove backed by a series of small ridges running down to the waterline, with a taller hill in the distance.

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

Windswept Trees, Coastal Bluffs

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Windswept Trees, Coastal Bluffs
Rugged trees cling to rocky bluffs above the Pacific Coast shoreline, Point Lobos.

Windswept Trees, Coastal Bluffs. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Rugged trees clinging to rocky bluffs above the Pacific Coast shoreline, Point Lobos.

This scene gets a different treatment than other recent Point Lobos photographs, something more in line with the tradition of black and white photography at this location. The foreground tree and its nearby associates are influenced by the strong winds at this exposed location. Branches and whole trees are bent away from the open sea, and their angles are mirrored by the slope of the headland on the other side of the foggy inlet.

In a recent post I mentioned that some attractive Point Lobos subjects are often nearly impossible to photograph because dense trees stand between legal (and safe!) camera positions and the open views. While sometimes I can find a way to photograph under, around, or through these barriers, that isn’t always. possible. I initially went to this spot looking for an open view of the inlet, but when I couldn’t find it I decided to make the trees and boulders the main foreground element.

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

Headlands, Fog

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Headlands, Fog
Big Sur headlands, fog, and bright sunshine.

Headlands, Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Big Sur headlands, fog, and bright sunshine.

Autumn is my favorite season. It isn’t just about the colorful annual displays of fall leaf color, though that is quite compelling. It is just that, oil general, almost everything is in transition. The element of change itself is exciting, but so is the trajectory of the changes — new colors, cooler weather, rain and snow begin to arrive, fascinating skies, different light, and more. Along the nearby California coast all sorts of things draw me — the intense light, glowing fog, big surf, the newly green hills of California’s wet season.

This past week I made my first autumn pilgrimage to the Big Sur region, leaving home well before sunrise so that I could be there for the early morning light and before the fog cleared. I had not checked the weather carefully, so I was surprised by some impressively large surf, and the combination of ocean spray and coastal fog created some beautiful and moody scenes. I went about as far south as this location, where I have photographed many times in the past, and found a scene full of brilliantly glowing atmosphere, with fog muting the details of the landscape as it faded into the distance.

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.