Point Reyes National Seashore, Point Reyes Beach near the lighthouse at sunset, with yellow lupine carpeting the bluffs above the cliffs.
I had hoped to get some photographs of the wonderful fields of yellow lupine at the top of this bluff, but I was stymied by the tremendous winds buffeting Point Reyes. I do have photographs of this scene that show the flowers more clearly, but many of them are blurred from being blown by the wind.
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A log embedded in blowing sand at Drakes Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore.
It was tremendously windy on this visit to Point Reyes, and here the sand was streaming across the surface of the beach and straight out into the Bay.
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Black and white photograph of the historic Point Reyes Life-saving Station and dock with Drakes Bay and Point Reyes cliffs beyond. Point Reyes National Seashore, California.
This old building sits right on the shoreline of Drakes Bay, on the sheltered side of the Point Reyes Headlands. It was used until a half century ago as the staging area of rescues at sea, and it includes an unusual rail system for launching rescue boats. (It somehow seems right to show this historic building in black and white, and compositionally I like the effect a bit better as well.)
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“Point Reyes” — oint Reyes with coastal haze, foreground cove with elephant seals, and Drakes Bay in the distance.
I made this photograph in incredibly windy conditions. (I can hear other Point Reyes regulars saying, “duh!” at this point…) It was the kind of afternoon when no tripod is sturdy enough to really hold the camera still – so I waited and shot during relative lulls in the gale. If you look closely at the lower right corner you can see sea lions hauled out on the beach.
To expand a bit, the weather at this spectacular location is often quite different from that in other nearby California locations. The “point” extends a good distance out into the ocean here, with the result being cold temperatures, lots of wind, and frequent heavy fog. The fog was not present on this day, but the wind surely was!
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.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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