Tag Archives: landscape

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stack and Cove, Wilder Ranch State Beach

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Sea Stack and Cove, Wilder Ranch State Beach

Sea Stack and Cove, Wilder Ranch State Beach. Santa Cruz, California. December 29, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Twilight view of a surf filled cove, shoreline ledges, sea stack, beach, and Monterey Peninsula at Wilder Ranch State Beach.

Although I have visited the section of the California Coast Highway between San Francisco and Santa Cruz many times and have driven past this spot frequently, I had never actually stopped at Wilder Ranch State Beach and wandered out the the ocean here. Having seen some interesting photographs of this spot recently, tonight as I drove north from Santa Cruz I decided that there was no time like the present and I pulled over and hiked down to the beach. Compared to many winter evenings along this section of the Pacific coast, it was very calm and almost warm tonight.

This photograph looks south toward Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay – the Monterey Peninsula is visible on the horizon. The sea stack is probably the most recognizable feature of this beach, though the low rock shelfs along the water’s edge are also pretty interesting. This photograph is a fairly long time exposure shot in the post sunset glow.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: sea, stack, cove, rock, ledge, reef, bluff, surf, wave, ocean, pacific, monterey, bay, peninsula, santa cruz, california, usa, sunset, twilight, evening, light, moss, reflection, time exposure, beach, sand, pond, pool, sky, cloud, landscape, seascape, travel, scenic, stock, mist, island, birds

Commentary, Photographers, Workshops

Luminous Landscape: Charles Cramer Workshops

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Seen at the Michael Reichmann’s Luminous Landscape web site:

I am fortunate to count among my friends some of the top photographic instructors in the world. I list their workshops on my Workshops page, and from time to time feature something new that they’re doing.

Charles Cramer is one of America’s most famous landscape photographers and teachers. For years he and Bill Atkinson have been teaching printing workshops together, but now Bill has decided to retire from these and so Charlie is striking out on his own.

You can find out more about this new series of printing workshops here.

I’m also fortunate to know Charlie. Everything Reichmann says is true, and I can vouch for Charlie’s teaching skills, having been the grateful recipient of some individual time with him in his studio. I’ve also been through his booklet on digital post-processing – it distills more useful and practical information into a small text than anything else I’ve seen, and I regularly consult it.

If you are looking to learn from an outstanding photographer, master printmaker, and fine teacher I highly recommend Charlie’s workshops.

Commentary, Community, Photographers

Trading Prints: Jim Goldstein

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During the latter part of 2008 I posted more than once about my participation in Jim M. Goldstein’s Buying Prints project. I’m a bit slow about this stuff, but I get to it eventually!

Earlier this fall I wrote about meeting up with Edie Howe in Yosemite to trade one of my aspen photographs for one of her images from Mono Lake. Last week I finally managed to connect with Jim to make our trade – a copy of my Submerged Boulders, Lake, and Cliffs for a copy of his Primitive Coastline. Jim is a fine landscape and nature/wildlife photographer and also quite the photography writer, blogger, and podcaster. (Follow the link in the first paragraph back to his web site to find out more.)

One of the great things about doing the print exchanges for me is that I get to meet photographers who I otherwise only know from their online personalities. It was a special pleasure to meet Jim and his wife Cindy in their home, talk photography a bit, take a look at some of Jim’s work that currently only exists on his computer, and then to accompany the two of them to a holiday party where I met more photographers. Thanks Jim and Cindy!

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Twilight, Point Lobos

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Twilight, Point Lobos

Twilight, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. December 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Silhouette of a tree at twilight over the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Point Lobos is open until 30 minutes after sunset these days, providing an opportunity to shoot some really beautiful twilight skies, especially in the fall/winter season. I had just finished shooting along the shoreline and realized that I needed to head back to the car if I wanted to be out of the park on time. As I hurried along the road back to my car I saw this composition – I quickly set my tripod up in the middle of the road and made several exposures, knowing that the dynamic range was far to great to be captured in one shot. Just as I collapsed the tripod the park ranger drove up on her final patrol to make sure that the stragglers – that would be me! – were leaving the park. She graciously waited as I finished my walk to the car, packed up, and headed out of the park.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: twilight, sunset, evening, tree, silhouette, branches, trunk, shore, coast, rocks, island, water, bay, pacific, ocean, sea, orange, blue, clouds, horizon, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, carmel, monterey, peninsula, big sur, landscape, seascape, travel, scenic, stock, nature, surf, waves, kelp