Tag Archives: light

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

The Headlands, Evening

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The Headlands, Evening
Pacific Coast headlands at sunset on a hazy evening.

The Headlands, Evening. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific Coast headlands at sunset on a hazy evening.

As I post this photograph it is the middle of winter, and here in California we just experienced an atmospheric river storm, the sort that can bring tons of rain in a short period of time. This is my favorite time of the year along the Pacific coast, when these big storms can produce huge surf, when the cloud-filled skies alternate with clear days, and when the landscape is much more dynamic. This photograph does not come from such a time…

It comes from the polar opposite time of year and a very different set of conditions. I made the photograph some years ago on a gentle mid-June evening, a few days before the start of summer. It was just after sunset and the sort of day on which I could stand above the ocean on coastal bluffs and contemplate the quiet and peaceful sunset, looking across the gentle surf toward a distant peninsula muted by hazy atmosphere hinting at fog.

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: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

560 Blue

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560 Blue
“560 Blue” — A man walks past a blue San Francisco building in morning sunlight.

Let me start by pointing out that this is not the first time I have shared this photograph. An earlier interpretation of it exists using a different aspect ratio. I came across it again recently as I scanned through my old raw files, and I decided to take another look at it. This time I altered the aspect ratio, retaining the original 3:2, though I more typically work with 4:3. This allowed me to include the decorative rectangles at the upper right and left. In addition, as I thought more about the role of the blue color in this photograph I decided to simply remove a few elements that were dissonant with that.

The scene is a San Francisco street, and I made the photograph on one of my day trips up to “The City” by train, something that was a regular photographic event for me prior to the pandemic. I was walking up into the main downtown area from the train station, pausing along the way to photograph interesting subjects in the full morning sun across the wide street. I had already made a couple of photograph of this very blue building when I saw the man walking into the scene.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Forest and Fog

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Forest and Fog
Sunlight begins to thin the morning fog in a Monterey Peninsula forest.

Forest and Fog. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunlight begins to thin the morning fog in a Monterey Peninsula forest.

Today we visit the California coast below the Monterey Peninsula, at the Point Lobos State Reserve. (That is the actual name, though many of us casually refer to it as a state “park.”) I have gone to this place for decades, since my parents took us there as kids. Back then the big attractions were the tide pools (the number one attraction!), the various sea mammals, and the surf. Those are still on my list when I go there, though now I’m more likely to go with the goal of making photographs. (The place, like so much of the Big Sur coast, has become almost impossibly popular, so I try to visit at odd, off-peak times.)

I had gone down there on this 2013 early spring day to make photographs. My typical routine is to arrive very early, before those crowds show up, and spend a few hours photographing in relative quiet. This time I headed to a location in the more northerly portion of the small preserve, where there are views back across the coastal forests and toward the low hills to the east. Because it was morning, the sun was coming over those hills just as the fog was starting to then, allowing a bit more light into the gaps between the trees.

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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Photographs: Urban/Street

Look

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Look
A “LOOK” sign at a light rail crossing.

Look. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A “LOOK” sign at a light rail crossing.

It seems to me that few photographers are able to resist at least occasionally photographing signs that catch their attention. (Not everyone will admit to it though!) I’m pretty sure I recall that my father collected them, and I’ve done it fitfully for decades. (Many years ago I was an avid cyclist, and I always used to get a laugh out fo a sign that I passed on one of my routes. It simply announced: “1/4 MILE AHEAD.”) Signs can be graphically interesting, funny or ironic depending on where they are found, or even useful for certain non-photographic purposes.

I had been looking (ironic, yes?) at this sign for months as I passed it along one of my pandemic routes for daily walks. For at least the previous month I had thought about photographing it each time I passed… but I didn’t do so. Most of the time I just didn’t bother, but the one previous time I did try there was an issue with the light. But finally the sign was in shade and I captured it. And it IS a good reminder to always look, especially if you are a photographer!

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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