Tag Archives: coast

Morning Musings for 8/30/14

August 30, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Today a few thoughts, in no particular order…

The photo – I made the photograph attached to this post a few years back on a winter day along the California coast. It is here today for those who
a) want to see something non-urban (see below)
b) join me in looking ahead to the cooler season and its interesting weather and light
c) love the California coast.
d) share in “all of the above.”

You can read more about this photograph here. (As always, a big “thank you!” to the unknown surfers who walked across just the right spot on the beach at just the right time on just the right day in just the right conditions. ;-)

Articles at the blog – In addition to sharing my photography, I share a lot of written material here at the blog: technique, locations, equipment reviews, and more. Some — but not yet all — of these articles are listed on my Articles page. Have at it!

Urban photography at the blog — The urban and street photography thread is going to continue for just a bit longer — Chicago is up next. For those of you who enjoy such things, thanks! For those of you who prefer the landscape and nature photography, it will be back. (And, like me, you might even enjoy the look at different subjects from the usual — I find that looking outside of my favorites often helps me see more clearly.)

Projects — I have some upcoming plans to get back into the wild world relatively soon. This should, among other things, lead to new landscape photographs. And the need for a shower.

Aspens and fall color – Fall colors are arriving very soon. In fact, hints are already about if you look in the right places. Here in California the aspen color should begin in about another month or so, though in this drought period things may not evolve in quite the typical ways. I’ll have more to say about how I view this season’s prospects toward the middle of September. (For now, read more about Sierra Nevada fall color here: Sierra Nevada Fall Color Season – Coming Sooner Than You Think)

Morning Musings – “Morning Musings” comprise a series of mostly off-the-cuff posts on various subjects — whatever comes to mind at the time I write them. They may appear as frequently as every day or sometimes they not appear for a while.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Napping Elephant Seals

August 23, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A crowd of elephant seals napping on the beach near Point Piedras Blancas

This is (yet another!) photograph of elephant seals lolling about on the beach near Point Piedras Blancas just south of the Big Sur coastline. This location is well-known for providing easy access to viewing of these remarkable animals. They are found in many other locations along the coast now that their numbers have recovered, but in most places access is much more difficult. Here there is an “elephant seal nursery” mere feet for the Pacific Coast Highway, with short observation trails that give good views of the action and which protect both the seals and the human visitors.

I visited a bit earlier in this season when the pups were still rather small. This visit was almost an afterthought — after a morning of photographing landscapes and seascapes along the Big Sur coast I found myself at the southern end of this area with a few hours to kill in midday light, so I decided to drive a bit further and visit the seals. There were not nearly as many there at this later point in the season, but there were still plenty for me to make photographs. Images of the animals lying almost motionless on the sand not only evoke our own pleasant thoughts of doing the same thing (!) but they can also create a false impression that the lives of these creatures are lives of ease. In fact, the reality seems quite a bit different. In contrast to what seems like a life as a big chunk of sleeping blubber, these animals become quite sleek and graceful once in the water — where I understand that they have to be on the lookout in order to avoid become a snack for a great white shark!

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

Elephant Seals, Point Piedras Blancas

August 16, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Elephant seals massed along the edge of the beach at Point Piedras Blancas, California

Photographing elephant seals was not originally port of my (somewhat vague) plan when I set out for the Big Sur coast on this one day outing. I started out fairly early heading south, figuring that I would just stop at whatever seemed interesting along the way. It was quite foggy across the Salinas Valley near the outlet of the Salinas River, so I wasn’t sure what I would find on the coast. But when I got there the fog was thinning quickly, so I had a lot of opportunities for seascape/landscape photography along the periphery of the fog. Continuing south I eventually “ran out of fog” and as it became midday the light was less inspiring, so I set a new goal of looking for lunch! After lunch I continue south a bit more and crossed the lowlands south of Ragged Point.

As I drove past the elephant seal viewing area, which I had last visited in the winter when the newborn seals were still there, I was a little surprised to find a decent number of seals. Since the good light for photography on the return drive was still a ways off, I figured that photographing elephant seals was as good of a way to spend an hour as any so I stopped and made some photographs. The place is quite different without all of the newborn seals. There were far fewer seals and almost all were relatively large. Mostly they lay around, either up on the beach a ways or else lined up side to side right at the waterline as this group is doing.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Tree, Soberanes Canyon

August 15, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A lone tree at the base of rugged Soberanes Canyon

The Soberanes Canyon and Creek area of the upper Big Sur coast is, to me, a particularly interesting spot. Here in one place are a number of the characteristic features of this coastline: rocky sea stacks, rigged shoreline backed by coastal bluffs, big surf, beaches, a coastal valley leading steeply up into the mountains, and, of course, fog. It is a popular place, and there are often many cars stopped here. Some people park and head toward the ocean, while others head away and climb up the canyon.

The canyon leading up and away from the coast has intrigued me for a long time, though it wasn’t until relatively recently that I began to explore the area more carefully. One of the first things I realized about this canyon is that it can create some special conditions of light and atmosphere in the morning. Mornings are often a bit tricky on this coast, since if faces west and the sun rises behind tall mountains to the east. However, when the conditions are right, as the sun tops the high ridge the light often comes down into the canyon and backlights the coastal haze, obscuring the details of the canyon and sometimes creating a mystical quality.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: coast

Morning Musings for 8/30/14

Elephant Seals, Point Piedras Blancas

Tree, Soberanes Canyon

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.