Tag Archives: landscape

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

Morning, Fog, Surf

Image Leave a comment
Morning, Fog, Surf, Big Sur
“Morning, Fog, Surf” — Bright morning light illuminates fog along the Big Sur coast as storm wave run up against the cliffs

The fog in this photograph doesn’t come from the usual source. Typically, along this section of California’s Big Sur coastline, fog rolls in from the ocean in big, fluffy, low-level clouds. That fog is a dark, damp, gray thing, and — with the exception of the moments while it is clearing — it generally does not let in much light. The “fog” in this photograph, which might more accurately be called mist or spray, comes from gigantic waves from a winter storm breaking along the coast in windy conditions. The waves produced this mist on this day of surf up to 40 feet high.

The photograph could also serve as an example of looking away from the most obvious thing. The location is at or just before a very popular and iconic stopping place along the Coast Highway in the Big Sur region. In fact, many people making a quick trip down from the north choose this spot as their turn-around point. I stopped a bit before the throng and pointed my lens in a different direction, down toward a familiar beach lying at the base of huge shoreline cliffs. The beach isn’t visible — the giant waves were so strong that they ran all the way up to the base of the cliff. I decided on a high key interpretation of this scene in order to reveal the glowing backlight slanting across the cliff from above.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | BlueSky | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Forest and Granite, Reflections

Image Leave a comment
Forest and Granite, Reflections
Trees of a sparse forest on rocky ground, reflected in the surface of a subalpine lake

Forest and Granite, Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees of a sparse forest on rocky ground, reflected in the surface of a subalpine lake.

Yes, I am still mining the work from our late-summer week in the John Muir Wilderness, during which five of us base-camped and photographed the heck out of the surrounding area. That pleasant late-summer days seem far away now during the cold season. (You can bet that these subjects look a lot different at the moment!) Yet as soon as I look at them it all comes right back to me… and I start thinking about the next trip to such a place.

I made this photograph late in the day after walking up to this rocky little basin, full of lakes and thin forest and surrounded by talus slopes leading up toward the Sierra Nevada crest. The specific location is a small bay extending to one side of a larger lake. The main lake was largely rock bound, with a huge cliff at its upper end. But this side bay was more gentle, surrounded by more level terrain and forest, and protected from wind. Late in the day the shadows from the nearby peaks blocked the sun, and I photographed the trees and rocks on the opposite shoreline in soft light.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Colorful Rocks, Lichen

Image Leave a comment
Colorful Rocks, Lichen
A shadowed rock face with red lichen

Colorful Rocks, Lichen. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A shadowed rock face with red lichen

This photograph looks at some details that might be easy to overlook. The rock face was located along a trail we walked on our way to our base camp for nearly a week of Sierra Nevada backcountry photography, and we ended up camping perhaps a half mile from this spot. Most of my focus was on higher terrain, but later during our visit I found the time to walk down-canyon to this spot and photograph this wall.

Several things were striking about this feature. From a personal perspective, I was surprised that I had completely ignore such an interesting source of intimate landscapes when I walked past it the first time. Now, as I revisited it, I realized that the light here was quite special, with some reflections from bright, high peaks across the valley, and additional light coming from the blue sky, with both sources filling in soft light. Here and there small plants found a foothold in cracks, and colorful lichens, ranging from intense reds and oranges through bright greens and yellows grew on the face.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel

Moored Boats, Seine River

Image Leave a comment
Moored Boats, Seine River
Boats moored along the banks of the Seine River, Paris

Moored Boats, Seine River. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boats moored along the banks of the Seine River, Paris

Our hotel in Paris this past summer was not far from the Cathedral of Notre Dame — perhaps a five minute walk away — and we crossed the Seine in this area quite a few times during our stay. Most often this was an incredibly busy area, with crowds created by the constriction of river-crossing bridges and the many areas of interest to visitors.

As we crossed we often had interesting views of the river and the nearby city. From the ideal locations one can look up or down the river, past a series of bridges lined up one after the other. In many places a walkway, here including a few parked car, runs along the banks of the river midway between the water and the main streets up above. Interesting and colorful boats were moored here, too.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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