Tag Archives: hill

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

Big Sur Coastline at the Rocky Creek Bridge

January 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

Black and white photograph of winter surf and rugged cliffs and rocks along California’s Big Sur coastline at the Rocky Creek Bridge.

I have photographed this scene before, so it was on my list of places to check out as I drove down the Big Sur coast on the second day of the new year. When I arrived I found very different lighting from that in the linked photograph – that one was shot in the morning with back-light and heavier mist. On this afternoon the surf was big (but not huge) and some mist was being thrown up by the waves, but the late afternoon light more clearly illuminated the rocks and the bridge. I also found a slightly better spot for seeing the natural arch in the foreground rocks. The only difficulty was that a herd of cattle was grazing on the top of the bluff right in front of this scene, and I had to wait for them to move before I could shoot – they were obstructing the arch!

I first thought this would be a color photograph, but the more I worked on it the more I liked the monochrome rendition. To me it seems to take the focus away from the colors and force it more towards the abstract and overlapping forms of the rocks, surf, bridge, and hill beyond.

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: big, sur, coast, coastline, winter, season, seascape, pacific, ocean, california, usa, sea, water, surf, wave, stock, rocky, creek, bridge, rugged, rock, bluff, cliff, cave, tunnel, arch, natural, road, highway, one, haze, mist, spray, fog, afternoon, light, crashing, landscape, nature, hill, mountain, black and white, monochrome

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

Sunset Surf, Big Sur Coastline

January 12, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

The last sunlight of the day gently lights the winter surf and coastal bluffs along highway one on the Big Sur coast of California.

This photograph is the result of a bit of good luck and a bit of planning. On this morning I heard a weather report that included a high surf warning for the northern and central California coast. I’m always alert to this in the winter since this can create some amazing photographic opportunities. With that in mind I decided somewhat spontaneously to finish up a few other tasks and then try to get to Point Lobos for some late afternoon and early evening photography there.

As I approached Point Lobos in the mid-afternoon it became apparent that I wasn’t the only person out and about on this last weekend of the holiday season! The entrance to Point Lobos itself was closed because all the parking lots were full, and scores of cars were filling the roadside pullouts near the park. Since I can go there when it isn’t so crowded I decided to change my plans and head south down the coast, ultimately going almost to Granite Creek.

At one point where the road made a broad curve to the right I was able to look back and see this panorama. I stopped only long enough to take a quick look and spot a use trail heading down toward the edge of the bluff. I made a mental note that this might be an interesting scene to shoot in the last light of the day, and then I got back in the car and continued south.

After finishing up a final shot shortly after 4:00 I decided to head back to this location. On one hand the light didn’t look too promising, as some high clouds were thickening and moving down the coast. However, it looked to me like it might remain clearer right above the horizon – I thought there was a chance of some “surprise light” just before sunset, and it seemed like this spot might catch a bit of it. With that in mind I drove back here, loaded up my gear, and wandered out to the edge of the bluff where I found this panorama.

With or without photography, it was a spectacular spot. The large Pacific swell was coming straight in to the beach below me to the right, and bluffs and sea stacks and surf stretched back up the coastline toward the Carmel Highlands and the Point Lobos area and interesting clouds were forming above. Now all I needed was a bit of luck with that sun peeking under the clouds at last light – and for about a minute or two I got the soft, warm light I had hoped for.

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: big, sur, coast, coastline, winter, season, seascape, pacific, ocean, california, usa, sea, water, surf, wave, stock, highway, one, scenic, travel, nature, bluff, rock, seastack, cloud, sky, blue, sunset, dusk, light, mountain, hill, ridge, road, horizon, evening, beach, spray, fog, mist, foam, landscape, plant, rugged

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

San Francisco Skyline, Winter Fog and Haze

December 30, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fog and haze obscure the winter skyline of downtown San Francisco, California.

Almost obscured by morning haze and fog, the San Francisco skyline is silhouetted against the backdrop of the morning light coming over east bay hills. This photograph was made from a vantage point in the Marin Headlands across the Golden Gate from the City. A number of downtown landmarks are visible including the Transamerica Pyramid, and beyond the downtown area a bit of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge is barely visible.

The atmosphere above the Bay varies in astonishing ways throughout the year, and it never seems to be quite the same twice. While the summer often brings the familiar banks of ocean fog, winter brings the effects of fog from the other direction in the form of tule fog forming over the inland valleys. It can be completely clear – and, for the season, warm on the coast – yet a few miles inland the lower valleys may be filled with cold, wet, ground fog.

During these conditions, the moist air can move towards San Francisco and the Bay by way of the delta. That is more or less what was happening on this morning when the very most and hazy air from inland had created this soft atmosphere and light above The City, even as higher winter clouds in clear air moved far overhead, catching the morning sun light.

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.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Golden Gate Bridge Tower, Transamerica Building, San Francisco Skyline

December 29, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

The Transamerica Pyramid above the downtown San Francisco skyline and centered in the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge on a hazy winter morning.

This is, again, from the iconic location high in the Marin Headlands where the Transamerica Pyramid lines up precisely in the center of the upper portion of the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. While this is certainly not an original view of San Francisco skyline, the effect of the thin winter fog is perhaps a bit different from what is usually seen from here. (This fog is related to the tule fog that forms on very cold mornings in the valleys of California. On this morning it was very thick further inland in the Central Valley and delta and some of that moisture was probably responsible for the conditions seen here over San Francisco.)

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.

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