Tag Archives: dusk

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

Beach Walker, Evening, Waddell Creek Beach

December 31, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A solitary beach walker at sunset approaches a flock of gulls at Waddell Creek Beach with clouds reflected in foreground pond.

This seemed like a good “last day of the year” photograph.

Just as the sun dropped to the horizon a lone beach walker came across this strand between this reflecting pond and the surf beyond and approached a flock of sea gulls. If I look at this photograph just right I can imagine that it is wholly a photograph of sky with a narrow “beach bridge” crossing through the middle.

This is one of a short sequence of photographs I made on this evening. I had spent the entire afternoon more or less looking for the right photographic subjects and had come up with nothing. I had just made what I figured would be my last stop for the day at the “official” beachfront parking lot at Waddell Beach. I got out, looked around, enjoyed the wind and sound of surf, but didn’t see anything that quite inspired me to take out the camera. I got back in the car, turned south on Highway 1… and a few seconds later as I crossed the bridge over the creek I saw the pool reflecting the sky. I quickly turned around and parked the car and made a few exposures in the fading light.

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: waddell, creek, beach, big, basin, california, usa, state, park, pacific, ocean, stock, person, man, hiker, walker, sand, pond, pool, reflection, sky, cloud, sunset, dusk, evening, sky, colorful, wave, surf, ripple, nature, seascape, landscape, gulls, birds, flock, sea, shore, shoreline, coast, bluff, cliff, headland, seaweed, kelp, spray, stock

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Late Season Subalpine Meadow and Creek

December 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A dry creekbed meanders through a boulder-filled golden late-season Sierra Nevada meadow at sunset near Evelyn Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

This is another view of the “backyard” of my solo-backpacking camp site near Evelyn Lake back in early September of this year. Dusk has fallen across the meadow and the twisting creekbed leading to the lake, but a bit of alpenglow lingers on the clouds beyond the tree-lined ridge.

This photograph is evidence of the early onset of “fall” in the high country. Although the equinox was still nearly two weeks away, the plants here had lost their summer appearance – the meadow was almost entirely brown or golden and the small creek, which would contribute to the flooding of this lakeside meadow earlier in the season had already stopped flowing.

(By starting my “fall” season in late summer in the high country I can manage to experience fall colors for at least three months every year!. I often see the first hints of the change in the highest country even earlier than the date of this photograph. Then by late September and early October the Sierra aspen color show is in full swing. By the end of the month I can find great colors at lower elevations on the west side of the range, such as in Yosemite Valley. After that the colors continue to develop through November in the coastal areas of central and northern California, and here in the SF Bay Area there are still a lot of fall colors to be seen.)

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: dry, brown, golden, creek, bed, meander, curve, twist, boulder, rock, filled, late, season, summer, autumn, fall, meadow, sub, alpine, brush, bush, plant, flora, foliage, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, sunset, dusk, evelyn, lake, backpack, camp, hike, wilderness, nature, landscape, sky, forest, grove, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, cloud, pink, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Subalpine Meadow, Evening – Evelyn Lake

December 7, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Late summer evening light in a subalpine meadow near Evelyn Lake in the Yosemite National Park back-country.

I’m pretty certain that my favorite time of year in the Sierra starts right about when this photograph was made – early September right after the Labor Day Holiday. I’m also certain that my favorite terrain – I call in “my Sierra” – is this sort of open timberline country with a mixture of subalpine meadow, stunted forest, and open views of surrounding higher terrain.

On this day I had come up to Evelyn Lake – located very near the Vogelsang High Sierra camp – from Lyell Canyon. After a late arrival at my Lyell Canyon camp the night before and the rather stiff morning climb up the Ireland Lake trail, I arrived here feeling pretty tired. I pretty much set up my bivy sack camp and took a big nap! Later in the day as evening approached I came back to life and decided to make a few photographs. This photograph of the meadow and a bit of a meandering stream in the meadow was made within a few yards of my campsite on the shoreline of the lake.

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: stream, creek, meander, meadow, grass, plant, foliage, flora, rock, boulder, tree, forest, sub, alpine, tundra, ridge, rocky, sky, blue, cloud, cloud, pastel, sunset, evening, dusk, light, evelyn, lake, back, country, backpack, trail, hike, camp, nature, landscape, travel, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, stock

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: dusk

Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach

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

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