Tag Archives: inlet

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Headlands and Mist

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Headlands and Mist
Morning mist floating among headlands on the Big Sur coast.

Headlands and Mist. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning mist floating among headlands on the Big Sur coast.

This photograph shows of the features that sets the Big Sur coast apart — along much of its length the land drops precipitously from tall headlands directly into the ocean. This cuts off easy access to the ocean in these areas — helping maintain the wild quality of the coast here. These headlands and cliffs also produce an extraordinarily dramatic meeting of land and sea.

Although this photograph comes from a well-known and easily accessible location, similar scenes are found all along this central section of the California coastline. I photographed somewhat early in the morning when the sun was still ascending over the coastal mountains, casting shadows on the cliffs and the edge of the water. A bit of thin fog increases the atmospheric recession between the sections of headland cliffs.

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

Monterey Cypress Snag

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Monterey Cypress Snag
The skeleton of a Monterey cypress snag above a cove and peninsula on a foggy Point Lobos morning.

Monterey Cypress Snag. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The skeleton of a Monterey cypress snag above a cove and peninsula on a foggy Point Lobos morning.

This weathered Monterey cypress snag is evidence of the rugged lives of these trees. At Point Lobos many are found along the rocky, rugged, and exposed north shore, where they grow on rocky headlands and at the edge of cliffs. The growth of thriving trees can seem almost lush, but if you look around you’ll inevitably find a lot of struggling trees and dead snags like this one.

Making this photograph was an almost comical affair. A challenge of photographing here is that there is rarely a clear, unobstructed view of interesting subjects. In some cases you could get such a view by (illegally) venturing off the trail, but in addition to being bad manners that is often very risky. To find compositions I often have to be creative, perhaps thinking about how to work the obstructions into the composition, or by shooting around and between them with long lenses. To make this photograph I had to set up in the middle of a narrow section of the trail, use a very wide angle lens, and put the camera in the one precise position that worked… and I had to move the whole setup several times to let people pass as I worked.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Shoreline, Autumn Plants

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Shoreline plants with early autumn colors along the back of a backcountry lake.

Alpine Shoreline, Autumn Plants. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shoreline plants with early autumn colors along the back of a backcountry lake.

For all of the usual reasons, our group base-camped at a high, subalpine lake during our recent week in the Sierra Nevada backcountry. What are those reasons? Some are, of course, scenic — many lakes provide open vistas, reflections, an easy way to walk their perimeters (though not always!), meadows, and access to other nearby locations. “Our” lake had a large and convoluted shoreline. Most of it was covered with trees and mead owing areas, though one side was comprised of the base of a giant talus slope leading down from the nearby peaks.

I walked much of the lake’s perimeter, revisiting sections a number of times during our stay. On this morning I had set out to reach the farthest point of the lake, where a rocky outlet stream led to further meadows and more lakes. I had a lot of ideas about what I could photograph there, but central in my mind was to photograph a couple of bays like this one, surrounded by rocky terrain and early autumn vegetation, and with the distant peaks of the Sierra crest in the background.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Inlet Stream, Subalpine Lake

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Inlet Stream, Subalpine Lake
Sierra Nevada ridge, forest, and lake viewed from the meadowy inlet stream

Inlet Stream, Subalpine Lake. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sierra Nevada ridge, forest, and lake viewed from the meadowy inlet stream

I made this photograph on a lovely late-summer morning at a Sierra Nevada backcountry location where we camped for about a week a while ago. Camped nearby, hidden among trees and boulders on a small glacial moraine, we woke each morning, emerged from tents, and were immediately in a target-rich photographic environment. We had choices — wander the nearby meadow and lake, head up the hill to bigger meadows, or embark on a longer hike above timberline.

The lake is more or less a Sierra classic. It sits on a bench above a deeper canyon, with low hill at the outlet end suggesting that the terrain was scooped out by glaciation. Above (and behind my camera position) the valley continues, rising well above treelike and culminating at a ring of high peaks. A river drains to the west in the valley between the lake and the more distant ridge. I made the photograph in the morning as the first direct light hit the meadow and the distant mountains were still in shadow.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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