Tag Archives: island

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

Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coastline

February 3, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The receding ridges of the Big Sur coastline arc southward into winter haze beyond a pair of large sea stacks.

On the final day of January we did the “down and back” drive through the Big Sur area of California’s Pacific Coast Highway. This is my favorite time of year in this part of California. At one point along the drive I made a comment (as I often do while passing through here at this time of year) about how this weather felt more like a “typical summer day” than like a “typical winter day” – and then I quickly caught myself and recalled that “typical summer days” here often feature thick fog, wind, and cold. On the other hand, between Pacific storms – or during a dry year like this one – a typical winter day may feature brilliant sunshine and long vistas and temperatures that are as warm as those of summer here.

As the day developed I shifted from looking for the effects of first and early light coming over ridges and into canyons, or the thinning offshore clouds. Instead I started to think about the long coastal vistas, the intense reflection of the ocean seen from high places (which always makes me think of molten metal), and the way that the backlit atmosphere highlights receding ridges as they disappear into the distance. As we came over one of the high points and around the corner the road began to drop and this view appeared in front of us, with two sea stacks in the foreground (one of which contains a natural arch) and the rugged coastline curving toward the south.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Island, Marsh, Autumn Sky

December 22, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late-autumn morning sky above islands and flooded marshland, San Joaquin Valley

We arrived here in predawn darkness for a day of bird photography. I never know exactly what I’ll find when I start a morning out here, especially since I most often start before sunrise and frequently in thick fog. On this day, the air was a bit murky before dawn but there was no thick fog, and as we drove the perimeter of this marshy area we could not only hear the cranes and geese and other birds, but we could even see them a bit. The atmosphere was “interesting,” to use a euphemism for “doesn’t look promising but you never know what might happen!” No thick fog… but clouds overhead that might or might not allow some interesting light at sunrise.

Perhaps 10 minutes before sunrise it was time to pick a subject and be ready for it. At about that point we arrived at this flooded pond with its odd little tule-covered islands. It was still gray, but I figured that if color did arrive at sunrise I might be able to fill the frame with the sky – both the actual sky and its colors reflected in the water – and split the image with the island and the thin horizon line. So I swapped my long bird lens for my widest ultra-wide and set up right along the edge of the water. The sunrise itself was blocked by thicker low clouds to the east, but as the sun rose above them it began to light higher cloud layers above the low-lying atmospheric haze and everything turned to shades of blue.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Shoreline Sea Stacks

December 9, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Giant shoreline sea stacks along the Oregon Pacific Ocean coastline.

As we traveled south along the Oregon coastline on the Oregon Coast Highway (US 101) we passed through various towns ranging from quite small to middle-sized. Eventually we came to Port Orford, which did not seem to us to be all the exceptional of a place – though apologies to Port Orfordians, who probably know the beauties of the place far better than some Californians quickly passing through! However, there was one interesting feature that immediately caught our attention. As the highway pass through the town it curves to the left to follow the coast. But at the point where the curve went left, a short section of road continued straight ahead to the top of a hill that appeared to overlook the coast, and a giant sign hand-painted on the roadway almost demanded that we leave 101 and see what was there.

Just over the top of this short side road was an open view of the coast to the south, curving inland right below the town to form a shallow bay. Slightly beyond this we could see a set of large sea stacks along the beach… but no picture in this particular light from our position. We continued on along the highway, curving through town and then back towards the south, and soon came to the spot where the sea stacks stood. Despite some tricky light, including wildfire haze and afternoon intense light, we paused to make a few photographs. First, a large group of pelicans surprised us by slowly flying by into the strong headwind and then landing almost directly in front of us at the waterline. Then I put a longer lens on the camera and went looking for an angle that would let me combine near and far towers with a bit of surf along the wild beach.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Strait of Juan de Fuca, Evening

December 7, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light near Hurricane Ridge and over the Strait of Juan de Fuca

After shooting in the lowland rainforest earlier in the day, we planned to head up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park in the evening, hoping for some interesting late day light. I’ve been “skunked” (frustrated by poor conditions!) on more than one occasion here, including one notable visit when the clouds reduced visibility to a distance that might have been measured in yards. An earlier web cam check and what we could now see from down below encouraged us to think that we might get something better this time, so into the park and up the road we went.

When we arrived the conditions were not quite stupendous, but they held the promise of becoming better, so we stuck around and photographed. Although it was mostly somewhat hazy and cloudy, every so often the sun would come through an opening in the clouds to the west, and the beams of light would move across the rugged landscape of the Olympic Mountains spread out in front of us – and on one occasion this light crossed through rain showers and produced a momentary rainbow. As things wound down – without there ever having been a real climactic moment of light – I decided to walk over to a low ridge from which there was a view to the north and the Strait of Juan De Fuca, with Canadian territory beyond. Again, the atmosphere was murky, though there were potentially interesting clouds about. I made this photograph near the very end of the day when a bit of filtered though direct light swept across the foreground ridge.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: island

Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coastline

Island, Marsh, Autumn Sky

Shoreline Sea Stacks

Strait of Juan de Fuca, Evening

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.