Tag Archives: horizon

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

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Horizon

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Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Horizon
Pacific Ocean surf breaks over coastal rocks, backed byt the distant horizon.

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Horizon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Pacific Ocean surf breaks over coastal rocks, backed byt the distant horizon.

This may be the final photograph in a recent series of images from a short visit to the upper Big Sur Coast during a brief break between our recent storms. It was just one morning, but after being kept mostly inside by a stream of closely-spaced storms, it seemed like time to get out!

While there were no storms on this day, the effects of the past storms were everywhere — downed trees, landslides, damaged roadways. And the next one was already starting to arrive, muting the light, sometimes making the atmosphere a bit murky, and generating large surf from the northwest.

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

Headlands and Sea Stacks

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Headlands and Sea Stacks
Steep headlands and sea stacks along the rugged Big Sur coast, California.

Headlands and Sea Stacks. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Steep headlands and sea stacks along the rugged Big Sur coast, California.

In several ways, though not all, this was the best kind of winter day to photograph along the Big Sur coast. Recent storms had complicated access just enough to keep the crowds away. The lingering moisture softened the atmosphere and light. The surf was up. I stopped at a few of the usual places, but also found a few new overlooks. This is the second time I’ve been to this specific spot, and the conditions were different each time.

The scene is full of elements of a “typical” Big Sur coast photograph. Steep headlands running into the ocean? Check. Sea stacks just offshore? Check. The ever-present horizon? Check. Surf? Check. A bit of mist or fog? Check. Perhaps add a stop at the Big Sur Bakery along the way, and all of the pieces are in place!

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.