Tag Archives: horizon

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

Winter Seascape – Near Waddell Beach

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Winter Seascape - Near Waddell Beach
Winter Seascape - Near Waddell Beach

Winter Seascape – Near Waddell Beach. Pacific Ocean Coastline, California. December 20, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell

A mininalist evening seascape photographed from high bluffs above the Pacific Ocean near Waddell Beach, California.

After photographing beautiful sunset clouds at Waddell Beach I packed up and started south on my drive back home. From Waddell the road rises to pass along the edge of a high bluff with an open view to the west and over the Pacific. I often stop here to photograph shorebirds as they pass right along the edge of the cliff. Although I didn’t have a plan to stop on this evening, I almost intuitively pulled off the road at the first stop and saw this very quiet and still image of the post-sunset Pacific Ocean minimalist seascape – the large swell was coming slowly straight towards the shoreline and everything from the water to the clouds had taken on blue tones in the subdued evening 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.

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keywords: winter, seascape, waddell, beach, pacific, ocean, coast, coastline, shore, shoreline, wave, swell, sea, vast, expanse, sky, cloud, blue, surface, storm, evening, twilight, sunset, nature, minimalist, bluff, above, curve, horizon, fog, mist, reflection, scenic, travel, landscape, west, highway, one, san mateo, county, stock

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

Gulls Taking Flight, Near Waddell Creek

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Gulls Taking Flight, Near Waddell Creek

Gulls Taking Flight, Near Waddell Creek. Pacific Ocean Coastline near Santa Cruz, California. December 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Flock of gulls takes flight over dark and cloudy Pacific Ocean near Waddell Creek.

This is a second photograph from the same location where I made the motion-blur pelican shot posted previously, the Waddell Creek Beach (part of Big Basin State Park) along the Pacific Ocean coastline on Highway 1 (the “coast highway”) north of Santa Cruz. When I shot this the light was truly dismal from a combination of ocean spray, foggy haze, and high clouds above.

Working quickly – fortunately my long lens was already on the camera – I pivoted and tracked this large group of gulls as they lifted off from the beach near the creek and headed north. Although I’m posting this small version of the photograph, it really is intended to be seen large – I’m thinking it might make an interesting print in a width of two to four feet.

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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keywords: pacific, ocean, sea, coast, highway, one, coastal, california, usa, gulls, birds, flight, fly, flock, group, wing, surf, sea, ocean, shore, wave, foam, horizon, clouds, fog, mist, haze, dark, scenic, nature, wildlife, seascape, landscape, travel, stock, waddell, creek, big basin, state, park, beach, sand

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

Squall, Point Lobos

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Squall, Point Lobos

Squall, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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.

An offshore squall in the wake of a frontal passage, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Shortly after I arrived to photograph at Point Lobos in what looked like it might become fairly photogenic weather, I was surprised by a small cold front that quickly swept across the part and left some mist in its wake. It passed quickly and after the offshore showers had passed the sun soon began to return – in fact a half hour later it was almost completely clear at sunset.

I have a long term project of photographing what I think of as minimalist seascapes and this is another in the series. Many are made during the “interesting” season along the northern and central California coastline – the season that includes late fall, winter, and early spring. During this half of the year, rather than the summer’s binary alternation between boring blue sky and dense coastal fog we seek a tremendous range of local and larger area conditions. Yes, the fog is still around, but we also see the gloom of approaching fronts, the power of Pacific storms, the mixed light and clouds and these storms clear, and the tremendously clear air after the last remnants of a front departs.

One more comment on this photograph. I think this may be one of those in which the inclusion of a very tiny object can have an effect on the perception of the image that is way our of proportion to its size. What looks like a small spot in the sky on the left side of the frame in this online jpg is a solitary bird passing across the scene. I feel that this photograph is changed in an important way by its inclusion.

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keywords: point, lobos, state, park, reserve, carmel, monterey, peninsula, big, sur, california, usa, ocean, sea, pacific, coast, shore, scenic, stock, travel, nature, squall, shower, rain, weather, cold, front, storm, cloud, water, light, seascape, landscape, horizon, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pacific Ocean, Beach, Evening Panorama

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Panther Beach Evening Panorama

Pacific Ocean, Beach, Evening Panorama. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Panoramic photograph of a Pacific coast beach at sunset with one small figure on the beach.

Like one of the other photographs in this series that I posted earlier, this was made from the top of the bluff near the thin extension across the beach where a natural bridge is found. I waited for an interesting set of waves to come in and for the right number of people (one!) to be on the beach and in the scene. The small figure standing at the end of the patch of rocks on the beach near the right side of the frame is another photographer who eventually made his way out onto the rocks where the wave is crashing to shoot close-ups of the surf. Conditions were a bit odd on this evening. January is, obviously, in the middle of winter – but this scene looks almost like summer, and it felt like summer as we were having unusually warm conditions.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, panther, sand, surf, spray, rock, horizon, sky, bluff, cliff, person, landscape, stock