Tag Archives: california

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

Morning Light, Big Sur Coast

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Morning Light, Big Sur Coast
“Morning Light, Big Sur Coast” — Morning light, haze, and surf along the Big Sur Coast.

After a period of travel (Portugal, Spain, Belgium, NYC this time) it is always great to get back to photographing the natural world here in California. This week I heard that a couple of friends were in the Carmel area, less than an hour-and-a-half away, so we decided to meet up for some morning photography along the Big Sur coast. There’s no cell service where we were going, so we agreed to some coordinates on Google maps and set an early arrival time. I showed up, but couldn’t find them, so I made some photographs while waiting…

…including this one of the surf, morning light, and thin fog. As I photographed I noticed a couple of figures moving out onto the headland at the far right. I don’t usually include people in my landscape photography, but I’m not against it either, so I changed the framing a bit to incorporate them. It was only later in the evening, at home and working on photographs at my computer, that I zoomed in on the figures and realized that they are Franka and Dave, the friends I was searching for! (We did eventually connect, by the way.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Southern California

Alone in the Wilderness

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Alone in the Wilderness, Death Valley
“Alone in the Wilderness” — Over a dozen morning photographers crowd one small section of sand dunes, Death Valley.

Yes, the photo title is obviously tongue-in-cheek. This is not really “wilderness,” nor is this a place where one is likely to be “alone.” But there is a lot to think about here. If you look closely — and you may need to click the image to get a larger view — you can count at least a dozen photographers spread out in this desert landscape that comprises a very small section of these dunes… and it is not at all the most crowded area.

You can diminish the number of people out there with you if you go in the off-season, avoid weekends, get up very early, and perhaps go there when the wind is howling. But most often you will not be anything like “alone” in this place. To be honest, one task for photographers here is figuring out to work around the crowds, assuming the crowds are not your intended subject.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Oh See O.C.

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Oh See O.C.
“Oh See O.C.” — The O.C. McDonald sign in San Jose, California

This is not the first time I have photographed this sign. I walk a lot, and one of my routes takes me past this place, the site of a venerable light industrial business in San Jose. The accidental abstraction of the shadows from the neon light always gets my attention, and I can barely see the actual sign now that this comes to the foreground of my attention.

This place is located in an area that is rapidly changing. Years ago it was filled with small businesses and light industrial sites, the latter likely because of its proximity to a rail hub. Over time, like so many similar areas, it began to decay — there are now many abandoned buildings and closed businesses. However, this area that was formerly considered to be far enough from the city center to house less attractive businesses now feels like it is in the center of town. It is rapidly become a development site with new apartments and businesses. It won’t be long before places like “O.C. McDonald” are lost to memory.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Gullies in Soft Light

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Gullies in Soft Light, Death Valley
“Gullies in Soft Light” — Eroded gullies and ridges in soft light, Zabriskie Point.

These badlands formations, where soft layers have been eroded by water, can be difficult to photograph. Those difficulties can lead to ethical questions for photographers. The issue is that the range of colors and luminosity in these formations is very limited — the color is basically a light tan and the difference between the light and dark areas is small, at least in soft light. One choice is to enhance that contrast and coloration during the post-processing phase, and that can create some impressive images… though this can depart radically from the actual appearance of the landscape. Here I decided to go with the low contrast and soft colors instead.

To repeat a story I’ve previously related, almost by accident I ended up here to photograph a subject that ultimately did not develop as I had hoped. So I turned my attention to other things nearby, including these formations. I photographed them rather early, before the direct sunlight arrived. This meant that the contrast was even more subdued, as the soft light was from the early morning open sky — directional, but only subtly so.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)