Tag Archives: drift

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

Trees and Cliffs, Morning Fog

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Trees and Cliffs, Morning Fog
Morning fog drifts among cliff-dwelling Monterey cypress trees above the Pacific Ocean.

Trees and Cliffs, Morning Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning fog drifts among cliff-dwelling Monterey cypress trees above the Pacific Ocean.

This camera position offered an unusual perspective on the landscape and the atmosphere. When photographing on the West Coast, I often stand on the land and look west (or a bit north or south of west) and toward the ocean — in other words, “looking out to sea” when viewing the water. But in this location the land curves sharply to the west and the views point to the north, and in places like this one I can look back toward the land to my east, viewing surf against the cliffs and early morning light coming toward the camera.

This was a beautifully foggy morning. A popular misconception about California’s coast is that it is a place of endless warm sunshine. Those conditions do happen, especially in the late summer and very early autumn (hint!) — but quite often the coast is foggy and cool or even cold. While some distance inland the temperatures reached well into the ninety degree range, here I photographed drifting fog in morning light as the temperatures hovered in the mid-fifties.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Marin Hills Fog

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Marin Hills Fog
Pacific ocean fog drifts among forested ridges north of San Francisco.

Marin Hills Fog. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific ocean fog drifts among forested ridges north of San Francisco.

This is a reworking/rethinking of an older photograph from 2013. The previous interpretation was black and white — at that time I was shying away from cloudy, foggy images with a blue cast, but I’ve come to accept and like them now. (Going to black and white is often an attractive option when I can’t quite see how to make it work in color.) Somewhat unusual for me, I also may have darkened some elements of this version of the image. Perhaps a bit of darkness seems appropriate in this time of sheltering-in-place…

I made the photograph on a quick day trip across the Golden Gate Bridge and a ways north up the coast. My recollection is that I followed coastal roads up to about Stinson Beach, stopped there to grab a a bite, and then decided to take a hillier route back home. It reached a sufficient elevation to get me up onto the shoulder of a ridge where I was above the bank of fog extending back out over the Pacific Ocean.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature

Spring Flowers, Mountains, And Clearing Fog

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Spring Flowers, Mountains, And Clearing Fog
Morning fog dissipates above wildflower-covered California hills.

Spring Flowers, Mountains, And Clearing Fog. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog dissipates above wildflower-covered California hills.

This photograph is a bit unusual in that it is a second version of a photograph I posted recently. By that I do not mean a similar photograph made at about the same time — I mean the very same exposure interpreted in two different ways. The primary difference is the presentation in a 2:1 aspect ratio panoramic landscape orientation which, I think, emphasizes the horizontal scale of the landscape and perhaps brings a bit more attention to the dissipating fog.

I made the photograph on a spring morning in 2019 during a visit to an inland California valley where wildflowers may erupt for a few weeks in wet years, transforming a scene that is usually dry and brown into one of lush greens and the vibrant colors of carpets of wildflowers. The morning began with thick tule fog, and I made the photograph just as the last bits of the fog were dissipating.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Spring Flowers, Mountains, And Clearing Fog

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Spring Flowers, Mountains, And Clearing Fog
Morning fog dissipates above wildflower-covered California hills.

Spring Flowers, Mountains, And Clearing Fog. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog dissipates above wildflower-covered California hills.

On this Easter Sunday morning, here in the San Francisco Bay Area it is gray and gloomy, with drizzle falling. I have just returned from my morning “socially-distance” walk around the neighborhood, and few people are to be seen. Normally I like weather like this, but today it reminded me how much life has changed in the past month, and that it will likely not return to the old normal for quite a while. Returning home, I decided to engage in a bit more “virtual spring” escapism and share this photograph.

At about this time a year ago I was out and about. I spent some time in this area on my way to Death Valley, and I made a second, shorter trip, too. On this morning I took a drive down a wide flower-filled valley between hills as morning fog cleared, stopping whenever and wherever I felt like it, enjoying the sun’s warmth, and making photographs.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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