Tag Archives: haze

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

Point Sur, Winter

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Point Sur, Winter
Winter light and haze at Point Sur, California.

Point Sur, Winter. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Winter light and haze at Point Sur, California.

This is not the first photograph of this subject from this camera position, to say the least. (Earlier today I ran into an Ansel Adams photograph of essentially the same subject, photographed from a position a short distance to the left.) The feature at the far right is Point Sur, the site of a historic lighthouse that was once one of the most isolated places along this part of the California coast.

Recently I’ve been pondering — not for the first time! — working in ways that focus on the larger forms in a scene and minimize the small details. I’m also interested in how I can produce the glowing, luminous effect of fog and haze that is backlit by low angle sun. This scene seemed right for the approach, since the atmosphere was filled with diffuse fog, and thin high clouds softened and diffused the light.

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

Fog, Trees, Meadow

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Fog, Trees, Meadow
Foggy hills, a grove of tall trees, and a meadow above the Big Sur coast.

Fog, Trees, Meadow. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Foggy hills, a grove of tall trees, and a meadow above the Big Sur coast.

During a break in California’s string of atmospheric river storms I managed to make a quick trip to the upper Big Sur coast this week. It is quite a scene there right now with numerous flooded areas, downed trees, washouts, slides, and closed roadways. This also means, of course, that the usual crowds are absent, so it was a fine time to go, even if some places I like to visit were off limits. (State parks were closed, and the lower half of the route was completely shut down.)

I stopped at this location, a spot where I have photographed for years, though this time I chose to make a photograph that focuses on something other than the obvious subject at this location. (That “obvious subject” may be just barely visible if you know where to look.) Often when I photograph in this spot I try to avoid including this lovely grove of big old trees and the meadow at its base, but they became the main subject in this photograph.

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

Five Brown Peilicans

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Five Brown Peilicans
Five brown pelicans skim along just above the surf along the California coast on a winter day.

Five Brown Peilicans. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Five brown pelicans skim along just above the surf along the California coast on a winter day.

Photographing along this section of California’s coast presents a lot of decisions. Should I focus on winter surf, the haze and clouds, the land-meets-sea landscape, beaches, surfers and beachcombers, wildlife? I usually start out with one or two of these in mind — it was the atmosphere and the waves on this visit — but soon get distracted by the others.

The coastal pelicans are usually spotted gliding along just offshore, heading north or south along the coast. (They do land, but it is less common to find them settled on the ground.) They often fly extremely close to the water — so close that it seems that they are almost touching it as they follow the counters of the rising and falling surf.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | 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, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Wave, Horizon, and Clouds

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Wave, Horizon, and Clouds
A wave close to shore, the distant horizoon, and clouds from an approaching Pacific storm.

Wave, Horizon, and Clouds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A wave close to shore, the distant horizoon, and clouds from an approaching Pacific storm.

This peaceful looking scene may perhaps mislead just a bit — but not completely. I stood along the edge of a beach north of Santa Cruz to make this photograph, on a hazy, cloudy day when a Pacific weather from approached and the surf rose. I intentionally left out anything that would give a sense of scale here, so you are free to regard the height of the wave subjectively.

After decades of living close enough to the Pacific Coast to visit the shoreline regularly, sometimes I think that I may start to take it for granted. It happens. But inevitably I’ll look out toward that far horizon — whether from a high overlook or down near the water — and again ponder the immensity of the sea and the timelessness of these scenes. All of which seems like a fine thing to consider as we complete yet another loop around the sun.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | 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.