Tag Archives: cliffs

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

Point Reyes Lighthouse, Pacific Ocean

June 7, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Afternoon light reflects on the surface of the Pacific Ocean beyond the Point Reyes lighthouse.

Although our trip to Point Reyes was not primarily to do photography, somehow I ended up bringing back quite a few photographs! This photograph was made from the iconic overlook at “the point” and right above the long stairway down to the historic lighthouse. On this afternoon high clouds were streaming in from the Pacific and casting a mottled pattern of light and shadows on the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

This spot is often completely socked in by clouds and/or extremely windy and cold. However, this was perhaps the most benign afternoon I’ve experienced there. The temperatures were very comfortable – we were a bit too warm on the walk to the point. The sun was out, and the wind was nearly still at times.

I wasn’t certain when I made the exposure of whether it would end up being a black and white or a color photograph. I’m still not sure! I’m sharing the color version first, but a black and white rendition will follow in tomorrow’s post.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Red Cliffs, Dawn

April 11, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Dawn light on the Red Cliffs, near Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park.

The Red Cliffs (sometimes, I think, also called the “Red Cathedral”) are close to the famous spire of Manly Beacon at Zabriskie Point, and off the right a bit from the typical vantage points. The light was quite special – at least when not blocked by the clouds! – on this morning. These interesting clouds against the pastel blue sky first caught my attention, and were actually my primary interest in making this photograph. While the early light was on the clouds, some soft light also filtered through low clouds to the east and created a subtle glow on the face of this feature.

The Red Cliffs are really an amazing feature, though are often overlooked in favor of the more prominent and iconic Manly Beacon. The cliffs can often can be difficult to photograph – at least for me! When more direct light hits them the large dynamic contrasts between the areas in the light and the much darker shadows are tricky to handle, so this cloud-softened light seemed like just the right thing.

And, yes, I was at Zabriskie Point. It is a long story, but I have mentioned before that I have a personal project to photograph things other than the iconic scenes of Zabriskie. (Which is not to say that I won’t point my camera at those while I’m there it it turns out to be worth it!)

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach

December 21, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Pacific Ocean coastal winter sunset at Waddell Beach, Big Basin State Park, California.

Getting this photograph was a long story with a surprise ending.

Late this morning my sons asked me if I would drive them to San Francisco and to their respective apartments. I didn’t have any other concrete plans so I said yes and decided to pack a lighter than usual selection of camera equipment and a tripod on the off chance that I’d find something to photograph. By the time we finished lunch in the Mission and drove through the Haight out to the Richmond and I finally traversed 19th Avenue to the south and got out of urban traffic… it was 3:00 p.m… and starting to rain – not exactly what I had in mind for photography.

I figured I might as well drive down the coast through Pacifica, and as I did so the rain began to increase a bit. Photography was looking less likely. But then I noticed that this seemed to be one of those northern California storms that cuts off fairly abruptly south of San Francisco and that the rain was diminishing as I drove down the coast. With this in mind I decided to get past Half Moon Bay and then see how far south I could get while the light was still good. I finally ended up in the large parking lot by the Beach where Waddell Creek emerges from the mountains of Big Basin State Park and merges with the ocean. Unfortunately, nothing was striking me as especially photogenic about the scene – there were interesting clouds, but there are often clouds this interesting and the light was otherwise not inspiring me.

So I got decided that it had been a fun drive and that I’d get back in the car and head home via Santa Cruz without any photographs. I pulled out of the parking lot… and about five seconds later as I crossed the Waddell Creek bridge I happened to glance down and toward the water… and I had one of those “Whoa!” moments as I saw this reflection in the pool where the creek reaches the beach. I quickly did a u-turn, came back and parked the car, grabbed my gear, and headed back across the road… hoping the light would hold long enough to make a few exposures of this thin strand of beach suspended between the real and reflected skies.

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.

keywords: winter, sunset, dusk, evening, pond, lake, creek, waddell, beach, cliffs, bluffs, clouds, pink, blue, waddell, big, basin, state, park, california, usa, coast, highway, one, ocean, shoreline, seascape, reflection, clouds, pattern, wave, sand, sky, landscape, nature, season, pacific, birds, tree, surf, stock

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow Near Yosemite Chapel, Evening

June 19, 2008 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Black and white photograph of evening scene in the meadow near the Yosemite Valley Chapel.

keywords: California, National Park, Sierra Nevada, Spring, Yosemite, valley, chapel, meadow, three brothers, trees, forest, cliffs, mountains, evening, usa, travel, landscape, scenic, stock, black and white

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: cliffs

Point Reyes Lighthouse, Pacific Ocean

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Red Cliffs, Dawn

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Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach

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Meadow Near Yosemite Chapel, Evening

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