Tag Archives: cypress

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

Monterey Cypress, Cove

July 24, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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!

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

July 22, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos

July 16, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dense forest atop bluffs above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve

Point Lobos State Reserve, located just above the Big Sur coastline, is not a large park, but it packs a lot of beauty into a small park. I have visited for decades, beginning long ago when my parents moved the family to California when I was about four years old and we used to take day trips there to picnic and visit the tide pools. (Today’s visitors would be shocked to know that it once was a quiet place not overrun by crowds. Ah, well.) In my teens, when I first became serious about photography, I used to go there and try to channel my inner Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. And, often to my surprise, I still find new surprises almost every time I visit.

On this mid-July visit I arrived in the morning on a weekday shortly after the park opened and before too many other people were there. I was hoping to time my visit for the breaking up of the morning fog, but it stayed foggy the entire time. I parked my car, shouldered a pack full of camera gear, and spent the next few hours wandering slowly and almost aimlessly across the northern half of the park, just looking and enjoying the cool coastal air. Eventually I found myself on familiar ground, walking along the north shore trail. I have passed this spot many times before and may even have photographed this bit of forest, but I had not really noticed these two light-barked trees — one twisted and one straight — surrounded by incredibly dense forest growth.

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

Coal Chute Point

March 17, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A bench on the bluff at Coal Chute Point, with inlet and peninsulas leading toward green hills, Point Lobos

A few days ago I needed to go make photographs, following a period during which that has not been possible, so I headed off towards the Monterey Peninsula with a vague plan that might have ended up here at Point Lobos or could have taken me further down the coast highway. It was overcast further north and inland, so I figured that by going south a bit I could find better light. In fact, I did, though it was not without its challenges — though the challenges of thin clouds (with their softened light) and haze usually appeal to me.

Without thinking about it a lot I ended up at Point Lobos, a place I have visited regularly since my family first came to California when I was four years old. Needless to say, this is familiar territory for me! I arrived shortly after the park opened and I headed straight to Whalers Cove and soon saw the peninsulas across this bay fading into atmospheric haze and finally to the “impossibly green” hills of the coastal range — and I knew that this would be my first subject for the day.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: cypress

Monterey Cypress, Cove

Fog, Trees, Knoll

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos

Coal Chute Point

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