Tag Archives: marin

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Railings and Fog, Battery Spencer

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Railings and Fog, Battery Spencer
Fog at the historic Battery Spencer, Marin Headlands

Railings and Fog, Battery Spencer. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fog at the historic Battery Spencer, Marin Headlands

There are old forts and batteries all over the West Coast and especially around the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of them have long histories, though we tend to associate them with World War II, the most recent time when the country through they might be put to use. I know of a number of these sites, but I’m most familiar with those in the Marin Headlands, across the Golden Gate to the north of San Francisco. If you have visited a particular and iconic overlook of the famous bridge you have likely been near to this place.

It is one thing to visit these spots on a sunny day when they are overrun with visitors. But if you go early on a cold and foggy morning you may bet a better sense of what it might have been like to be stationed at one of these sites. When I visited on this fogged-in morning, I was attracted by the relationships and angles of the railings.

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: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Marin Hills Fog

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Marin Hills Fog
Pacific ocean fog drifts among forested ridges north of San Francisco.

Marin Hills Fog. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific ocean fog drifts among forested ridges north of San Francisco.

This is a reworking/rethinking of an older photograph from 2013. The previous interpretation was black and white — at that time I was shying away from cloudy, foggy images with a blue cast, but I’ve come to accept and like them now. (Going to black and white is often an attractive option when I can’t quite see how to make it work in color.) Somewhat unusual for me, I also may have darkened some elements of this version of the image. Perhaps a bit of darkness seems appropriate in this time of sheltering-in-place…

I made the photograph on a quick day trip across the Golden Gate Bridge and a ways north up the coast. My recollection is that I followed coastal roads up to about Stinson Beach, stopped there to grab a a bite, and then decided to take a hillier route back home. It reached a sufficient elevation to get me up onto the shoulder of a ridge where I was above the bank of fog extending back out over the Pacific Ocean.

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: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Late Winter Morning , Richardson Bay

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Late Winter Morning , Richardson Bay
Clouds and fog about Richardson Bay and San Francisco Bay on a winter morning.

Late Winter Morning , Richardson Bayv. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds and fog about Richardson Bay and San Francisco Bay on a winter morning.

This photograph comes from a late-winter visit to redwoods north of San Francisco — the time of year where the trillium flowers are in bloom and when the approach of spring is evident. I had crossed the Golden Gate Bridge heading north, then left US 101 and climbed into the hills between there and the coast. From a familiar section of roadway there is a clear view back toward the Bay, so I stopped and photographed in the morning light.

The atmosphere was striking on this morning — a combination of backlight glinting on the water’s surface, low fog over the east bay, and odd band of bright clouds floating over the scene, and high above some slightly colored high clouds. In the foreground is Richardson Bay, between Sausalito and Tiburon, and beyond it is possibly to make out portions of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge.

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: Nature

Redwood Forest Plants

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Redwood Forest Plants
Detail of plants growing on the redwood forest floor.

Redwood Forest Plants. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of plants growing on the redwood forest floor.

We are perhaps spoiled somewhat here in my part of California. We take redwood forests for granted — both the coastal trees and the sequoias found in a few areas of the Sierra. Because I’ve been around these trees almost all my life, I forget sometimes how remarkable they are. Ironically, it is frequently while traveling to other places where forest trees are not of such gigantic size that I realize how shocking their scale can be.

At the same time, familiarly helps me look past the trees themselves and see smaller things that might be overlooked by a person walking through these forests with neck craned upwards in marvel. There is actually a lot taking place right down on the ground, especially during the wet season. I made this photograph one march in redwoods just north of San Francisco.

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.

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