Tag Archives: highway

Pacific Ocean, Gulls

PacificOceanGulls2006|08|2006: Pacific Ocean, Gulls. August 24, 2006. © "Copyright G Dan Mitchell".    keywords: pacific ocean fog bank gulls seagulls blue coast coastal california color photograph

Pacific Ocean, Gulls. August 24, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

I photographed this minimalist seascape along the Pacific Ocean coastline south of San Francisco, California during the summer of 2006. One goal was to convey a sense of the space and distance in this scene, and the inclusion of the very small images of the gulls in the foreground was part of this. (You can find related images in my Gallery, particularly in the California Coast and Natural World sections.)

Many related photographs may be found in the landscape (see the California Coast section) and wildlife sections of my photography gallery.

Flock of Gulls

Gulls2006|01|14: Gulls. Pacific Coast south of San Francisco. January 14, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Flock of Gulls. Pacific Coast south of San Francisco. January 14, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

As I drove up the Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Cruz and San Francisco last weekend I came across a huge flock of gulls on a beach where a river flows into the ocean. As if they had just discovered an amusement ride for birds, the gulls dropped into the creek, rode it to the edge of the surf, took off to fly a loop back up the creek, and did this over and over.

Pastures Near Bishop, California

BishopPasture2005|08|06: Pastures and Eastern Sierra Nevada near Bishop. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Pastures and Eastern Sierra. Bishop, California. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

There were thunderstorms up and down the eastern Sierra on this late August afternoon.

A little story about getting this photo: I had spent the day up in the White Mountains visiting and photographing the famous Bristlecone Pines. It had been a long day – longer than expected – and I had finally made my way back to Owens Valley to begin the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay area. I had done so much photography already that I was feeling burned out when I saw this lovely light in the pasture area just north of Bishop. I almost drove right past it, but at the last minute took a quick exit from the highway and drove off onto a side road where I found this wonderful scene.

keywords: pasture, bishop, california, eastern, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, highway, 395, owens, valley, thunder, storm, clouds, dark, meadow, tree, agriculture, usa, travel, scenic, landscape