Tag Archives: north america

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

Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Creek, Winter

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Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Creek, Winter
Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Creek, Winter

Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Creek, Winter. Pacific Ocean, California. January 1, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light winter rain falls on the rugged Big Sur coastline near Bixby Creek.

This is one more – and perhaps the final – photograph from New Years Day 2011 along the Big Sur coast line. While this is perhaps not your chamber of commerce picture perfect day, it is my kind of Big Sur day. As I made the photograph the wind was absolutely howling – so strong that I couldn’t really use my tripod, so I instead hand held the camera and braced it and myself against a very large boulder. To make things even more “fun,” it was trying very hard to rain!

The location is precisely at the spot where many of the iconic photographs of Bixby Bridge are made, at the north end of the bridge. However, on this day I thought that the subdued tones of the winter ocean and cliffs were more interesting, so I framed my photographs to avoid including the bridge.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.



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

Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees

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Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees
Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees

Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 8, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A grove of Monterey Cypress trees grows on top of a rocky ridge above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

In my continuing attempt to mine every bit of ore possible from this scene… this is a closer study of the same tree-covered knoll that I posted recently. The rocky hill is near the end of a thin peninsula between Whalers Cove and Bluefish Cove at Point Lobos. It is covered with a wild confusion of plants, Monterey cypress trees, and rocks and the whole thing drops suddenly to the edge of the Pacific Ocean right below.

This is another in a group of photographs that I sort of think of as “how much dense detail can I cram into one frame” photographs. For this reason, I’m pretty certain that this will have a better chance of making sense in a decent sized photograph in which the detail can be enjoyed a bit more than it can be in this small jpg.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
Flickr | Twitter (follow me) | Facebook (“Like” my page) | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.


Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Cypress Roots and Cliff Face

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Cypress Roots and Cliff Face
Cypress Roots and Cliff Face

Cypress Roots and Cliff Face. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 8, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Weathered Monterey Cypress roots grow on the face of a cliff at Point Lobos State Reserve.

This tree is getting a lot of exposure this week – it is the second or third photograph of the tree I have posted. To echo what I wrote regarding the earlier posting – though briefer this time – these stark and weathered roots growing on top of rocky ground – a cliff face in this case – remind me in some ways of gnarled timberline trees high in the Sierra Nevada with their old roots weathered to the point that they look almost as much like rock as like living things.

Some might think it odd, but I partially plan my wanderings around Point Lobos to avoid the sun as much as possible! I try to go there on days when it is overcast, and on days like this one where there is sun (though filtered by haze this time) I often search out shaded, north-facing areas so that I can shoot in soft, diffused light that fills in the shadows and does not sun-blast the bright areas of the scene.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.


Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Monterey Cypress Roots and Cliff Face

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Montery Cypress Roots and Cliff Face
Montery Cypress Roots and Cliff Face

Montery Cypress Roots and Cliff Face. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 8, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The gnarled and weathered roots of an old Monterey Cypress tree on a rocky cliff face at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

These old, twisted, gnarly, and very weathered roots belong to a stout Monterey Cypress tree standing near a trail at the edge of the cliff above the ocean. The main trail travels closely behind it from the perspective of the photograph, but I photographed it from a dead-end spur trail on the other side of a very narrow inlet.

In many ways, the cypress trees that end up growing in the most hostile spots – on top of rocks, at the edges of cliffs, exposed to the full brunt of the ocean wind – remind me a lot of certain high elevation trees at timberline in the Sierra, where we also frequently find trees that seem to grow on virtually nothing. The roots of these old trees are gray and weathered to the point that they are almost closer to rock than wood and these roots travel across barren rocky areas to reach some bit of soil.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
Flickr | Twitter (follow me) | Facebook (“Like” my page) | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.