Tag Archives: lighthouse

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Sur, Winter Light

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Point Sur, Winter Light
Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

Point Sur, Winter Light. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

This photograph is at the historic Point Sur, a rocky hill that would be a monumental sea stack if it were not still tenuously connected to the mainland by a low, sandy peninsula. (I’ve always wondered how often that peninsula has been overtopped by huge storm surf or perhaps an occasional tsunami.) The lighthouse at the upper left is part of a more extensive set of structures erected decades ago to support the isolated lighthouse keepers. Long ago it was considered to be so remote that it was resupplied by ships that arrived every few months, and the keepers and their families had to be essentially self-sufficient.

Point Sur has a tremendous physical presence along this section of the rugged coast. Before and after it the steep hills and cliffs are momentarily interrupted by low headlands, so it stands out against this flatter landscape.

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

Clearing Fog, Point Sur Shoreline

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Clearlng Fog, Point Sur Shoreline
Sun shines on the shoreline near Point Sur Lighthouse as morning fog thins

Clearing Fog, Point Sur Shoreline. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sun shines on the shoreline near Point Sur Lighthouse as morning fog thins

Most of the photographers I know have their “home territory,” the “local neighborhood” where they have photographed for a long time and to which they like to return. For some it may literally be their neighborhood, and they may photograph right around where they live, perhaps even within walking distance. For others it might be a place they no longer live but which they regard as “home” when they go back. My photographic home is rather large, and for almost my entire life it has included California territory from the Pacific coast and redwoods through the Sierra Nevada. Within this larger area, I have to think that the California coast is probably the strongest “home” for me. I’ve gone since my family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when I was four-years-old, and we used to visit state beaches and explore tide pools and coastal trails at Point Lobos.

I still live close enough that I can get up early, drive to the coast, photograph for a few hours, and be home by early afternoon. That’s exactly what I did today. I always check weather forecasts before heading over, and today’s imagined that the coastal fog would break up around 8:00 AM. Wrong. But, no problem, I simply headed a bit farther down the coast, looking for that region of special light on the border between thinning fog and hazy sunlight. I found that boundary and made this photograph of a familiar area where the rocky headlands and beaches lead toward the old Point Sur Lighthouse. There was plenty of filtered sunlight, and still a few cloud shadows when I made the photograph.

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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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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

Point Sur, Horizon, Clouds

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Point Sur, Horizon, Clouds
Historic Point Sur is dwarfed by clouds and the Pacific Ocean

Point Sur, Horizon, Clouds. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Historic Point Sur is dwarfed by clouds and the Pacific Ocean

By the time I got to this point on the Big Sur coast on this February winter day, it was past early morning and the light was more that of the midday hours. Often that might mean that the light had become flat and uninteresting, but some clouds close to the shoreline, some sunlight in the distance, and some high clouds further on made even this daytime light interesting.

I’m very familiar with this spot, where a historic lighthouse facility sits on top of a remarkable hill that would be separated from the land but for a low, sandy peninsula connecting it to the shoreline. Photographing from some distance away with a long lens, and aiming pretty much straight into the brightest reflected light, the hill’s details almost disappear into shadow, and it appears to float in the light and water.

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: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Sur Lighthouse Station

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Point Sur Lighthouse Station
Point Sur Lighthouse Station

Point Sur Lighthouse Station. Big Sur Coast, California. July 24, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The historic lighthouse station atop Point Sur along the California Big Sur coastline

Point Sur, with its historic lighthouse station, is an iconic feature of the northern section of the Big Sur coastline along the Pacific Coast Highway in California. The distinctive “hill” (which I now know is known as a “morro”) is visible from far up the coast as you approach from the north, and once you get closer the tall, rounded hill at the far end of a sandy peninsula has a nearly unique appearance. (Not literally unique, as there are others, such as the eponymous Morro Rock further south at Morro Bay.)

Today the morro itself, with its lighthouse station structures, plus an old naval facility nearby, are part of the state park system. The surrounding land is still in private hands, but Californians and others can hope that it, too, may eventually expand the public land along the coast. The lighthouse station was constructed in the late 1800s, when this was a very remote section of the California coast, and the lighthouse staff and their families had to be nearly self-sufficient. The area is exposed to significant winds and surf, as it is exposed to the north. Today the lighthouse still works, though with a modern replacement for the original light. If you look closely you may be able to see the light along the descending ridge on the right side of the morro.

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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