Tag Archives: coast

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

Monterey Cypress, Cove

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Monterey Cypress, Cove
Two Monterey cypress trees on a bluff about a Point Lobos cove

Monterey Cypress, Cove. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 18, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two Monterey cypress trees on a bluff about a Point Lobos cove

This section of the northern coast of California’s Point Lobos State Reserve provides a number of striking views and overlooks, though many of them are at least partially obscured by the trees that grow thickly on the bluffs above cliffs that drop steeply down to the water. I often work my way very slowly through this part of the park — there is too much to see!

I paused at a bend in the trail and then decided to take a short dead-end lateral trail towards an overlook. Almost there, I looked to my right and saw this view down to the cove and its rocky surroundings, framed (or blocked?) by two cliff-hugging Monterey cypress trees. As I set up to photograph, two deer quietly walked up and stood between me and the scene for a moment!

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 and Amazon.
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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

Fog, Trees, Knoll

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Fog, Trees, Knoll
Monterey Cypress trees on a rocky knoll above the Pacific Ocean in foggy morning light, Point Lobos

Fog, Trees, Knoll. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 18, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Monterey Cypress trees on a rocky knoll above the Pacific Ocean in foggy morning light, Point Lobos

Driving to Point Lobos from the San Francisco Bay Area in the early morning, I was not quite sure what conditions I would find. The forecast was for fog, clearing out before noon, but you can hardly ever tell for sure how this will evolve. A few days early I had been here on a day with a similar forecast and it never cleared. On this morning, however, it turned out that the fog was actually thicker inland, and it turned out that it cleared at the coast first!

We hiked over to the north shore trail, starting at a bluff above Whalers Cove, then climbing up to the higher bluffs that skirt the north shore of the park above steep and rocky cliffs that drop straight down to coastal coves. At first the fog was gray and almost oppressive. One can photograph in such conditions, but it is difficult to work the flat light. But very soon something much better began to arrive. As the fog cleared and the fog/sun boundary moved across the shore, the foggy atmosphere began to glow, and even in this soft light the colors began to intensify.

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 and Amazon.
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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: Northern California

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest

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Shoreline Bluffs, Forest
Forested bluffs drop straight down to the rugged shoreline along the north shore of Point Lobos

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 18, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Forested bluffs drop straight down to the rugged shoreline along the north shore of Point Lobos

For the second time in less than a week I made it back to Point Lobos State Reserve again. After several days of very hot inland temperatures here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Point Lobos was attractive destination not only for its photogenic scenery but also for the promise of cool morning maritime fog. We encountered the fog well before we arrived, but perhaps an hour later it began to clear from the immediate coast, and I had perhaps a half hour of beautiful mixed light along the boundary between sun and fog.

I made this photograph at a location I know very well along the north shore trail at Point Lobos. When I was there late last week I photographed while it was still foggy and the soft light filled in the shadows. Today the filtered sunlight created more dramatic shadows, but a bit of lingering fog muted the intensity of the light and colors in the forest on the bluff above the rocky cliffs.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Hiking Family, Whalers Cove

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Hiking Family, Whalers Cove
A family hiking along a wildflower-covered bluff above Whalers Cove, Point Lobos

Hiking Family, Whalers Cove. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 14, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A family hiking along a wildflower-covered bluff above Whalers Cove, Point Lobos

Whalers Cove is a lovely, sheltered cove at Point Lobos. Its inlet points more toward the inside of Carmel Bay than towards open ocean, so its waters are often nearly smooth as they were on this mid-July visit. Between the gentle surf and the fog, it was a surprisingly quiet and peaceful place — a few scuba divers were there, along with a small number of hikers.

I took the trail from here that ascents to the bluffs above the north shore of the park. Halfway up the initial climb I stopped and looked back at the cove. I decided to pause and make a photograph of the rocky formations on the other side of the water, with the coastal hills rising beyond. As I worked a family appeared on the wildflower-covered bluff — mom, dad, and three kids. Watching them make their way slowly along this trail reminded me of times many years ago when we came here with our now-grown-up children.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.