Tag Archives: mountains

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

Coastal Bluffs and Trail

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Coastal Bluffs and Trail
A trail crosses springtime coastal bluffs to approach the rugged Big Sur coast south of Carmel, California.

Coastal Bluffs and Trail. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A trail crosses springtime coastal bluffs to approach the rugged Big Sur coast south of Carmel, California.

This is a fairly “straight ahead” photograph of a popular section of the Big Sur coastline. There are several reasons for is popularity, not the least of which is the impressive number of sea stacks and the rocky junction of sea and land. It is also in the upper section of this area, not that far from locations like Carmel and Monterey. In addition, it provides fairly close access to the coast, including the trail crossing the bluff in the lower section of the photograph.

Most of the time I would hesitate to photograph a scene like this one, instead preferring something a bit more unusual — perhaps some dramatic light or maybe some fog. But it occurred to me that in many ways this scene on this spring day embodies the ideal of “normal” along this coast with the green hills, blue sky, and darker blue water. Oh, and about that trail… should you ever decide to try it or one like it, may I remind you that a lot of poison oak grows here?

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

Edge of the Continent

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Edge of the Continent
The rugged cliffs of the Big Sur coast meet the Pacific Ocean under cloudy skies.

Edge of the Continent. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The rugged cliffs of the Big Sur coast meet the Pacific Ocean under cloudy skies.

Although I was born in the Upper Midwest, I don’t think I could live there anymore — even though many aspects of the place are in my blood and feel comfortable to me. I recall visiting a few decades ago — and, honestly, generally enjoying myself — but watching the sun set and thinking about how many hundreds (more than a thousand, actually) of miles it is to the ocean. I can’t quite put the feeling into words, but it just seemed odd to this guy who has lived perhaps 25 linear miles from the Pacific Ocean for, well, more than a couple of decades.

I was thinking about this feeling as I visited the area in this photograph, the Big Sur Coast of California, the rugged interface between North America and the vast Pacific Ocean. The sense that there is an empty, unknown space that we don’t inhabit has long had a powerful effect on us, and here at the edge of the continent we can come face to face with a wilderness that most of us will never fully explore.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Lagoon, Burned Hills

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Coastal Lagoon, Burned Hills
A coastal lagoon between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, backed by distant burned hills.

Coastal Lagoon, Burned Hills. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A coastal lagoon between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, backed by distant burned hills.

This is a photograph that tells a story, one that may not be immediately apparent. But once you see it you may connect it to a larger story affecting California and the west right now, a story that is beginning to affect the entire planet it concerning ways. It is a photograph of a small lagoon along the Pacific Coast Highway just north of Santa Cruz, California. This is a place I have visited for years — decades, actually — and it is usually a lovely, bucolic landscape. I made the photograph in spring, and even during this very dry year the vegetation is thick and lush and the lagoon remains wet, supporting plant and animal life.

But take a closer look at the ridge in the distance. It belongs to what we loosely refer to as the “Santa Cruz Mountains,” the range lying between the South San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The top of the ridge is covered with… the black remnants of a forest that was destroyed in last year’s tremendous lightning-causes wildfires. In places near this location the fire burned almost all the way to the ocean. Fires have always been part of the California environment, but what has happened in the past few years is unsustainable. Due to drought and high temperatures linked to human caused global climate change, the state is incredibly dry and any fire, even the sort that would have been quickly extinguished in the past, can take off and quickly get out of control.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Eastern Sierra Lake, Evening

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Eastern Sierra Lake, Evening
Early evening light on a high country Sierra Nevada lake in the Hoover Wilderness.

Eastern Sierra Lake, Evening. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening light on a high country Sierra Nevada lake in the Hoover Wilderness.

A few weeks ago I decided to head to the eastern Sierra for a few days to get up into the high country. The main idea was to do a sort of pre-flight check for some potential backpacking, but I was also interested in photography, of course. I ended up camping at the end of an east side road that departs US 395 north of Yosemite. Despite the number of wildfires in California, I was lucky and the winds blew the right way to give me mostly clear skies. On this afternoon I decided to just hike up into the drainage above the road end to see what I would find.

Because I was looking for late-day light I didn’t start up the trail until mid-afternoon — my plan was to arrive at the high point when the light was getting good, make photographs, and then return by nightfall. After many years of hiking such terrain, this route felt familiar even though it was my first time on this trail. I passed a lake, following a trail through trees along its shoreline, and then climbed again, crossing a rocky ridge before another lake came into view. Eventually I came to my favorite sort of Sierra landscape — flat, meadowy areas with glaciated granite and small trees, with water flowing and peaks above. I stopped hiking and just sat for a while, enjoying the solitude and quiet… and noting that it was starting to get a bit cold. Eventually I made a few photographs and started back down the way I came, pausing to photograph a small peninsula at this lake as the angle of the light lowered.

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