Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwoods Great And Small

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Redwoods Great And Small
Dense Northern California redwood forest containing both old-growth and young trees

Redwoods Great And Small. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dense Northern California redwood forest containing both old-growth and young trees

I’ve lived on the fringes of California’s coastal redwoods ever since my family moved to the state when I was four-years-old. For years we did weekend trips to places like Big Basin Redwoods State Park, often hiking through the trees and beyond. So I have always been familiar with these extraordinarily tall trees and with the special forests they inhabit. However, it wasn’t until much later that I understood how truly rare the original old-growth forests are. I recently read that only 5% of the original forest was left mostly untouched — meaning that 95% of the trees (19 out of 20!) were cut down during a fairly short period, mostly in the 20th century. This was an astounding example of where greed can push humankind, and we can reasonably imagine that without intervention all of the old-growth forests would have been lost forever. If that greed had gotten its way, you would have to reimagine scenes like this one with only the slender trees on the right, because certain parties would have cut up every accessible tree like the one on the left.

Today it seems bizarre to recall the strong objections to saving these remnants back when the Redwood National Park was first proposed. Even conserving parts of the last 5% of the ancient forests seemed to be a bridge to far for interests blinded by their long-term investments in a nearly depleted natural resource, and they fought bitterly against that parks. There are several lessons in this. This was not isolated resistance to conservation — it has been the pattern with the creation of essentially all of our great American parks and other efforts to protect wilderness and natural areas. There are [i]always[/i] a few very loud voices shrieking that the protection of a few last remnants of America’s great landscape will ruin their economy. (Witness the Utah minority today working to undo national monuments.) However, now that our park system is well over a century old, it is plainly obvious that virtually every single protected area is regarded as a treasure and virtually no sane person would argue that we did the wrong thing by protecting them.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stacks, Cliffs, Sunset

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Sea Stacks, Cliffs, Sunset
Coastal cliffs, sea stacks, and beach reflecting the light of a Northern California Pacific Ocean sunset

Sea Stacks, Cliffs, Sunset. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Coastal cliffs, sea stacks, and beach reflecting the light of a Northern California Pacific Ocean sunset

This photograph illustrates — as do so many others! — the many situations in which a photograph is the result of some combination of planning, experience, patience, “seeing,” and just plain good luck. In the morning I had photographed a few hours north of here at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. As I worked that area, in the back of my mind I was calculating the driving time (plus eating and photographing time) that would put me at a particular spot along the coastline above Fort Bragg a bit before sunset. It is a spot that I have photographed before and one that both challenges and appeals to me. I knew the features of the spot, but there was no way to know what the conditions might be — in fact, I thought there was a pretty good chance that it might be fogged in.

As I approached this area, passing through inland mountains, it was apparent that fog was going to be an issue. Even inland the coastal fog was obscuring the upper slopes. Arriving at the coast I found “blah,” gray light. But there I was, knowing that this would be my last stop of the day, so I thought I might make something work in black and white. Then I noticed something interesting — the fog bank ended in the distance to the northwest right along the coastline, and right along the horizon there was a thin band of glowing, reflecting water. It occurred to me that this thin band would likely expand toward my position as the sun dropped toward the horizon, and that there could be a short period of special light. Before long the glow on the water came closer and the nearby waves began to pick up some sunset color. Then, as the bottom of the sun started to emerge below the edge of the cloud shield, the mist began to glow and the sun’s light came directly at me between the shadows of sea stacks, something can happen only for a few days during a brief interval or two each year… and only on days when the coastal weather conditions permit it.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Quiet Forest

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Quiet Forest
A quiet, Northern California old-growth redwood forest

Quiet Forest. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A quiet, Northern California old-growth redwood forest

I had heard rumors of rhododendrons along a trail at this location, so I went there late one afternoon when I figured that the light might be a bit muted by incoming fog and high clouds. I parked and started the short walk along a shallow ridge through the forest and then descended a bit into a small canyon. There were rhododendron blossoms, though I was apparently just a bit too early for their peak.

I and other photographers often look for special light when photographing the redwood forest. There are many types, for example the glowing light that is sometimes found in thinning fog, or the warm light early and late in the day when filtered sunlight makes its way into the groves. In some ways, the light in this photograph is probably a bit more typical. There was a gentle glow coming from cloudy skies to the west, and most of it was blocked by the thick canopy of trees. Because it was neither the morning nor evening golden hour, the light is softer and more subtle… and perhaps more reflective of the quiet and stillness of these places.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwood Forest, Morning

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“Redwood Forest, Morning” — Soft morning light filters down to floor of a lush spring redwood forest

For many years I have, in a sense, neglected the far northwestern corner of California where the Redwood National and State Parks are located. While I have photographed coast redwoods closer to the San Francisco Bay area, my experience in this true heart of the great redwood country has been quite limited — I’ve driven through a few times, but I have done very little photography there. This past week I had my first real opportunity to begin the process of rectifying this omission, and during this visit I managed to photograph in four of the main park components of the area. I’ll have additional photographs beyond this one, and I’ll expand on my thoughts about the area as I share them here.

This late May and early June period seems like it just might be prime time for this area, at least from a photographic perspective. Things are still very wet in this temperate rain forest, and new spring vegetation is everywhere along with plenty of wildflowers. This lushness produces scenes that are both attractive and a challenge to photography. As differentiated from, say, the Sierra Nevada, here there are few singular iconic sights. Instead there is the rich complexity of the redwood forest. (Also, of course, there is the nearby coastline.) The redwoods themselves lend an almost obsessive verticality to these scenes, but those large forms contrast with the dense details of other plant life. This was one of the first redwood forests within which I photographed on this visit, and I enjoyed the challenge of finding compositional form within this complexity.

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.

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