Tag Archives: islands

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

Sunset Light, Sea Stacks

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Sunset Light, Sea Stacks
Sunset light on sea stacks off the coast of Crescent City, California.

Sunset Light, Sea Stacks. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on sea stacks off the coast of Crescent City, California.

We recently returned from a few days along California’s far northern coast. We spent a couple of nights in Crescent City before moving south to stay in the Eureka area for a couple more days. We were mostly there to photograph the redwoods, but there was a lot more to see and photograph than just that subject. (In fact, one of our primary targets, the annual rhododendron bloom, was not producing a lot of flowers during our visit.)

The coastal area in Crescent City is quite spectacular, from the ocean just below the road running along its edge to the distant view of the infamous St. George Reef lighthouse. I have photographed from the residential area at the end of town before, and since we were there in the evening we decided to head that way again on this evening. The light was beautiful and evolving nicely… but it was clear that the clouds of a weather front to the northwest would block the last light. So I quickly set up this photograph and made two exposures as the final direct light hit the coast.

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

Near-Shore Islands, Clearing Storm

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Near-Shore Islands, Clearing Storm
An autumn storm clears above the Pacific Ocean and a group of near-shore islands

Near-Shore Islands, Clearing Storm. North Coast, California. November 19, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An autumn storm clears above the Pacific Ocean and a group of near-shore islands

We were up on the Northern California coast for a few days this past weekend, to celebrate Patty’s big birthday. This meant that the main goals involved drinking wine and enjoying some excellent dinners, and even allowed for more than a bit of sleeping-in, something that landscape photographers typically don’t do.

On this birthday morning we got up late and headed down to the town of Mendocino, perhaps considering a leisurely breakfast, but with no other specific plans in mind. But looking across the bay to the south we saw gigantic surf, clouds, fog, spray, and intense light — and photography distracted us. We traveled out to the edge of the headlands where there is a group of what must have once been coastal bluffs but which are now off-shore islands. The surf roared as the moving clouds cast alternating light and shadow across the seascape and dramatic clouds, some still dropping rain, passed by to the west.

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

Sunset Light, Big Sur

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Sunset Light, Big Sur
Sunset Light, Big Sur

Sunset Light, Big Sur. Pacific Coast Highway, California. January 31, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter sunset light on the rugged Big Sur coastline

On the final day of January we took a long drive down and then back up the Pacific Coast Highway between the Monterey Peninsula and Piedras Blancas, where we knew we could see and photograph the elephant seals that gather here on the coast every winter. We took our time on the southward drive, taking nearly nine hours to reach our southern destination – and stopping frequently along the way to make photographs. (OK, for coffee and meals, too…) After photographing the elephant seals in the late afternoon, it was time to start our return trip.

There is so much to see along this coast that it is unusual to be left wondering what to photograph, so the general – and somewhat vague – plan was to take stock of where we found ourselves during the hour or so before sunset and to then find a suitable golden hour and dusk subject to photograph. Perhaps 45 or 50 minutes before sunset we came to an overlook where we had photographed much earlier in the day and decided that this would be the place. Here the coastline arcs south, with rugged mountains dropping right down to the shoreline with its sea stacks, rocky prominences, and hidden beaches. Our overlook was high enough to provide an expansive view of this scene, and it didn’t hurt that a couple of large rocky islands, one with a natural arch, were located right below. You never know how a sunset and evening will turn out in photographic terms and you must more or less take what you get. On the plus side, there were thin, high clouds to the west that wrapped around to the south, and these clouds can produce a lot of color if lit from below right at sunset and shortly after. There was also some haze to the west to soften the light. On the other hand, there also appeared to be a somewhat thicker band of clouds and for right near the horizon, and this can “turn the lights out” at just the wrong moment. I made this photograph as the golden hour light began to intensely color the shoreline. I quickly made a series of photographs in landscape and portrait orientation, moving a bit in between to change the juxtaposition of elements a bit. At one point I looked away for a moment… and when I looked back the color had almost gone as the sun passed behind those thicker clouds. Yes, it happens that quickly and imperceptibly sometimes.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Two Islands, Fog

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"Two Islands, Fog" — Two grass covered islands in thick fog
“Two Islands, Fog” — Two grass covered islands in thick fog

I made my first trip of the season to California’s Central Valley in late November, in search of migratory birds – geese, herons, egrets, and so forth. I look forward to this every fall, for the experience of seeing (and hearing!) the birds but also as an excuse to explore the landscape of this part of California and, especially, to do so in interesting and evocative weather conditions. And, yes, fog is among those conditions.

The tule fog is a frequent feature during the winter months in the Central Valley, sometimes sticking around for days on end. One can drive over the hills into the Valley in sunlight, only to see the blanket of fog on the Valley floor ahead, and once inside the fog there is little trace of that brilliant winter sunshine. (Except that this fog, being shallow, sometimes creates the very odd juxtaposition of very impaired visibility and diffused light so bright you can barely look into it. Sometimes you can look up through this fog and see the sky or the moon above.) On this trip, when I arrived at my destination the fog was so thick that bird photography was, to put it mildly, challenging. On my first loop around the dirt road I did go slowly and find a few birds that were close enough to the road to make photographs, but on my second pass I instead thought to focus on the fog-blanketed landscape itself.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.