Tag Archives: northern

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

Monolith, Storm Surf

November 25, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter surf breaks against a monolith on a Northern California Beach

On this day we gradually worked our way up the coast from Mendocino, through the town of Fort Bragg and on to where the coast highway, very narrow at this point, turns inland, leaving the coast behind as it travels up narrow, forested canyons. We had a particular spot in mind for photographs, a place where we have previously photographed pale, lichen-covered tree trunks in deep forest. The ideal light of this comes from overcast conditions and we certainly had that — but the lovely overcast soon turned into serious rain, and we decided to head back to the coast.

This was the sort of post-frontal rain that comes and goes. One moment there might be a bit of blue sky and some sunshine on the surface of the ocean; the next dark clouds would approach and we could see the approaching rain heading our direction. We stopped at this overlook as the rain let up a bit, giving us a more open view back up the dramatic coastline toward the mountains from which we had just retreated.

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

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

Leaf and Sand

November 23, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An autumn leaf in the sand of a California north coast beach

In many ways the spectacular and rugged Pacific ocean coastline of Northern California is a landscape of huge scale, from the ocean itself to the long views of rocky cliffs, shoreline bluffs, coastal mountain ranges, sea stacks, clouds and fog. I love this country and many of my photographs of this landscape focus on these very things.

But sometimes I do look down at my feet as well. On this afternoon we had stopped at a beach where the road dropped down to nearly the water level and the wintry ocean was wild with the energy of a passing storm, producing surf and swells so large that it seemed that we looked up at them. I wandered out toward the waterline and began to photograph the surf and some sea stacks that stood in the path of the waves. As I turned to walk down the beach I happened to look down and see this autumn leaf, stuck in the sand near the high water mark, with the faintly visible paths of water that had detoured around the leaf on its way back into the ocean.

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

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

Near-Shore Islands, Clearing Storm

November 22, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An autumn storm clears above the Pacific Ocean and a group of near-shore islands

We were up on the Northern California coast for a few days this past weekend, to celebrate Patty’s big birthday. This meant that the main goals involved drinking wine and enjoying some excellent dinners, and even allowed for more than a bit of sleeping-in, something that landscape photographers typically don’t do.

On this birthday morning we got up late and headed down to the town of Mendocino, perhaps considering a leisurely breakfast, but with no other specific plans in mind. But looking across the bay to the south we saw gigantic surf, clouds, fog, spray, and intense light — and photography distracted us. We traveled out to the edge of the headlands where there is a group of what must have once been coastal bluffs but which are now off-shore islands. The surf roared as the moving clouds cast alternating light and shadow across the seascape and dramatic clouds, some still dropping rain, passed by to the west.

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

Land Meets Sea

September 7, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Steep coastal ridges run down to the edge of the Pacific Ocean, Northern California

Having lived not far from the Pacific Ocean for more than a couple of decades, I am lucky to have regular access to the California coastline and its often dramatic meeting of land and sea. Due to proximity, my home territory is the section between just north of San Francisco and down through the upper portions of the Big Sur coast. The shouldn’t be any surprise, given the number of photographs of that area that I have made.

Oddly, for a near-native Californian, I had little experience with the coastline farther north. I had made it up as far as Fort Ross a few times, but every time I went north in the state I headed inland. Some years back we began to rectify this omission with some visits to the Mendocino area. I still haven’t gotten my mind completely around photographing this particular coast, but I’m learning. While we think of the coast as being somewhat civilized, with roads traversing it and passing from town to town, the actual meeting of land and water remains mostly a rugged wilderness. I made this photograph from a spot that it at the edge of one of these wilderness sections, where the roads cut inland and leave the coast to the birds and the sea life.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: northern

Monolith, Storm Surf

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Leaf and Sand

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Near-Shore Islands, Clearing Storm

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Land Meets Sea

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.