Tag Archives: boulder

Two Rocks, Tenaya Creek, Spring

Two Rocks, Tenaya Creek, Spring

Two Rocks, Tenaya Creek, Spring. Yosemite National Park, California. May 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring runoff water in Tenaya Creek flows over and around two rocks and reflects the colors of spring growth, Yostmite National Park, California.

Starting later than in most years, I made my first 2009 visit to Yosemite Valley on May 9. The plan was to arrive early on Saturday morning (accomplished), photograph spring runoff (accomplished) and dogwoods (accomplished) and spring trees and other foliage (accomplished) and then get a campsite for the night… Oops. The campsites were gone and I ended up a couple of spots too far down the waiting list. So, instead of staying over on Saturday night and shooting a bit more on Sunday morning, I did a round trip from the SF Bay Area. Ah, well – it is worth the drive to spend one spring day in the Valley.

In the late afternoon I wandered on up toward Mirror Lake. I’m not all that enthusiastic about photographing the lake itself, but along the way there are lots of interesting things – this time of year those include dogwood trees and Tenaya Creek, the subject of this photograph. Along the steeper section of the creek close to Mirror Lake, the water was quite high and washing over the tops of some pretty large rocks. When I spotted the greenish surface reflection coming from sunlit trees along the opposite bank of the creek I decided to put the two subjects together – and his was the result.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: california, sierra nevada, travel, Yosemite, valley, national park, tenaya, creek, spring, season, flow, water, blur, rock, boulder, stream, creek, abstract, color, reflection, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, usa, season, runoff, curve, over, around, stock

Weston Beach, Winter

Weston Beach, Winter

Weston Beach, Winter. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Weston Beach in the wake of a passing Pacific storm, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

After photographing shore birds for a couple of hours I started back toward the park exit, but when I saw these post-storm clouds on the horizon beyond high-tide-filled Weston Beach I had to stop and make another round of photographs.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: weston, beach, cove, point lobos, state reserve, park, california, usa, monterey, peninsula, big sur, carmel, pacific, ocean, coast, shore, shoreline, passing, storm, clouds, winter, weather, birds, gulls, wave, surf, rock, boulder, sand, gravel, landscape, seascape, stock

Boulders, Beach, Twilight

Boulders, Panther Beach, Twilight

Boulders, Beach, Twilight. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Large surf-worn boulders near the waterline in the twilight – south of Santa Cruz, California.

Just after the sun dropped below the horizon, I passed through a “natural bridge” between the two sections of the beach and came out on the south side by these two large boulders set in the sand. I used a 35mm prime and positioned the camera quite close to the boulder on the left to get this shot, pausing long enough to let people in brightly colored clothes walk through the scene before making my long exposure. (In one frame there is a very interesting smear or color passing behind the rock! :-)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: boulder, rock, sand, footprints, sunset, evening, twilight, panther, beach, state, park, california, usa, coast, highway, one, 1, santa cruz, cliff, bluff, surf, wave, pacific, ocean, sea, shore, seascape, landscape, sky, cloud, nature, stock

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon

Panther Beach, Late Afternoon

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon. Near Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Warm late afternoon winter sun shines on the sand, rocks and surf at a beach Santa Cruz, California.

Looking more or less south towards Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, and in the distance the Monterey Peninsula, this photograph was made from atop a slender finger of coastal bluff that almost splits this beach in half. In fact, getting between the north and south sections would involve some serious wading if it were not for the large “natural bridge” that cuts through the rock more or less directly below where I stood to make this photograph. Except for correctly a slight camera tilt, little post-processing was applied to this photograph – the intense colors come from the very late hour just shortly before sunset.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, monterey, bay, surf, foam, cliff, bluff, sand, rock, boulder, coast, shoreline, shore, sea, seascape, landscape, travel, scenic, people, nature, walk, afternoon, late, light, stock