Tag Archives: mist

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

Cypress Trees in Fog

September 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cypress trees on rocky shoreline cliffs at Pinnacle Point, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Not the weather I was expecting…

In the middle of a Saturday afternoon I was trying to decide where in the greater SF Bay Area to shoot. I’d shot in The City a few days ago, and shot Muir Woods at about the same time, so I wasn’t thinking of those kinds of locations. As I frequently do when pondering such things, I went to the NWS web site to see what conditions might be like on the coast. I had a vague notion to go to Point Lobos for an evening shoot, so I checked the weather report for that area. I must have read too fast because I didn’t see anything about fog…

So I quickly loaded up and headed off to the Monterey Peninsula with ideas about photographing beautiful golden hour light at one of my favorite shoreline locations. Oddly, as I approached the Salinas River, there was some fog in the air. In full-on “explain it away” mode I told myself that it was probably remnants left over from the clearing that was certainly underway now. Supporting this notion, by the time I got to Marina the air over the Bay was quite clear, though there were some clouds atop the ridge above Monterey. Again, I told myself, “It is clearing still. I’ll get there just in time for the sun to emerge!”

Passing Carmel it was just plain foggy, and when I entered Point Lobos nothing changed. Still, I told myself – again! – that it must have just not cleared here yet. Any sane person who knows this area would have recognized my delusion at this point. While it is possible – just barely – for the fog to clear at 5:30 along this coastline, that is about as likely as putting your car in first gear and having it go backwards… Nonetheless, I wandered on out to the Monterey Cypress groves along the northern portion of the Reserve, happy to photograph the trees in the soft light of the fog.

As the evening wore on, it eventually became clear – even to me! – that the fog was coming in, not going out. I set about looking for “foggy subjects” to photograph, still working mostly in and around the cypress forest. This photograph is yet another example of how conditions can change the shot completely. Here there was just enough fog to mute the background pinnacle and other rocks and barely reveal a bit of the ocean beyond, but it was not so foggy that the closer tree on the rocky prominence was hidden.

On a clearer evening I would have stayed a half hour after sunset to continue shooting… but the light was really gone long before that.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Dogwood Leaves After Rain

June 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Water droplets from a passing shower on dogwood tree leaves, Yosemite National Park.

As I drove into Yosemite via the highway 120 “north” entrance, shortly after entering the park I passed by a large dogwood grove at the bottom of a steep descent. I know this spot well, and I watch if for dogwood blossoms every spring – and I can often find blossoms here long after they have gone from the Valley. On this morning the colors were intense from the previous day’s rain and due to the slightly overcast conditions. I was surprised to find that even at the end of the first week of June there were still some very nice looking dogwood blossoms and intense green leaves everywhere. The leaves in this photograph are on one of the dogwood trees in a shady section of the forest.

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.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-Winged Blackbird on Fence, Foggy Morning

April 27, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A female redwing blackbird stands atop a post of an old weathered fence among grasses.

I photographed this bird on an early mid-April morning just before fog began to clear. I frequently walk past this small pond – Castillero Pond – when I begin my hikes into the hills, oaks, and grassland of Calero Park. I’ve learned that it is often possible to find an egret here, so I usually approach the pond slowly and quietly so as not to scare the bird off if it happens to be there. On this morning it wasn’t, but I was pleased to see that the pond had filled after late-season rain, and I found that a flock of redwing blackbirds was flying around – it seems like must be mating and nesting season for them. So I left the long lens on the camera and remained quiet and was able to get fairly close to some of these small birds. While this shot doesn’t exactly fill the frame with the bird, I like the curving form of the fence as it blurs into the distance and the subdued colors in the background.

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.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Meadow, Hills, and Fence

April 20, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Soft morning light on spring meadow and pasture as fog burns off in the Calero Hills.

I made this photograph on my Saturday morning hike as the fog began to break up over these rolling hills in the Calero Park of southern Santa Clara County. I walk past this scene frequently as it is on a trail that I hike quite often – but this soft light on spring plants is special since it only lasts a few weeks each year.

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.

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