Tag Archives: northern

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Green and Red Leaves

September 2, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Green and red leaves in Mendocino, California suggest the coming of autumn.

I really wish I knew what plant this is… but I don’t! What I do know, however, is that when I spotted it growing along the edge of a building in Mendocino, California, the red and yellow tinge coming to the lush green leaves made me think of autumn and how close the end of summer is. Even in California, the signs that the seasons are in transition are more and more obvious when you look around just a bit. Not only do the colors begin to change on some plants, especially in cooler areas like Mendocino (and in higher elevation areas like the Sierra) but other signs appear to those who have learned to recognize them. There is a change in the light. I’ve never been quite able to quantify it, but it may be something about lower sun angles or perhaps the increasingly soft atmosphere that often seems a bit more hazy.

While this might seem like a photograph of a natural area, perhaps along a trail somewhere, I’m afraid it isn’t. No matter where I am, I often keep my eyes open for little scenes in unexpected places that might make a photograph, and this is certainly one of those. As I passed along the side of a small shop in Mendocino, I saw these plants in a very small planter next to a wall. I quickly pulled out my camera and made a single hand-held shot in this beautiful, soft light created by foggy sky and a bit of a bit of shade.

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

Island, Coastal Bluffs, and Distant Shore

September 1, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A steep and rocky island backed by coastal bluffs and a distant shoreline, northern California coast, Mendocino County.

The last time I passed by this section of the California coast highway in Mendocino County, I also stopped to photograph this scene – but was less happy with the result. This section of the coastline, like much of the meeting between California and the Pacific Ocean, consists largely of high coastal bluffs, interspersed with the steep canyons where creeks and rivers meet the ocean, with many rocky islands ranging from tiny to huge. The two-peaked island in this large cove fits more into the huge category and it is backed by two fingers of land where the high bluffs extend toward the ocean. In the far distance, a section of curving coastline is barely visible through the haze.

Recently someone asked me about how I decide whether a photograph will be black and white rather than color. I admitted – and it turns out that many feel the same – that often I am not certain when I make the exposure. Roughly speaking, the black and white photographs come about in perhaps three ways. Sometimes I like the subject but the color rendition just isn’t working the way I had hoped, so I try it in black and white and “discover” that I like it that way in post. On other occasions, at the time of exposure I sort of wonder if it might work in black and white and I make mental note to try it that way in post. In the third case, I “know” (with only a small amount of doubt) that the image is going to end up in black and white and I shoot the scene with that in mind. This is one of those photographs – I was almost certain that it would end up in black and white as I stood high on a bluff next to highway 1 making the exposure.

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

Elephant Seal and Rock, Water’s Edge

July 4, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An elephant seal lies near a rock at the edge of the surf, Point Reyes National Seashore, California.

The elephant seals have made what seems like a largely successful recovery along the California coast, and they are now found in quite a few places. I photographed this one and some of its fellows while doing landscape photography at Point Reyes – the actual point, not just the generic park – in late June. They are big beasts and while it is possible to make a “cute” photograph of an elephant seal, especially a young one, they seem like quite tough creatures. To begin with, their environment is not always exactly benign. In addition, they spar. Males have a challenge ritual that is fairly often observed. They face off, raising their upper bodies as high as possible, and then they slash and bite at one another. The result is not always pretty, at it isn’t at all unusual to see them bearing some very horrifying wounds from these battles.

This one, however, looks quite peaceful. (The fighting action was taking place just off shore and out of the range of the camera in this shot.) As I paused along a less windy section of the trail along the bluffs, hoping to find some shelter while I switched lenses, I heard the distinctive sounds of the elephant seals coming from the base of the bluffs. Looking over the edge into a small cove, I saw a group of them laid out along the beach. Soon they began to move about, and some headed straight for the water. This one went just a bit beyond the wave line, and then simply lazed about and let the water wash over.

Photographs: San Francisco

Pier, San Francisco Bay, Morning

June 30, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

An old pier along the Embarcadero, San Francisco Bay, with structures of the Port of Oakland, California across the water.

I wonder how long it will take for me to feel that I have exhausted the possibilities of this walk along San Francisco’s Embarcadero? Here is (yet another!) morning photograph made it this area, once again with what is perhaps my favorite light in this location – the early morning glow of backlit fog/haze over the waters of the Bay.

I made this photograph on a very calm summer morning when there waters of the Bay were almost completely smooth, at least until a bit of boat traffic began to come by and a breeze came up. Interjecting itself into the left side of the frame is one of the old piers along this section of the waterfront. In the far distance, all the way on the other side of the bay and muted by the morning haze, are giant cranes used at the Port of Oakland.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: northern

Green and Red Leaves

Island, Coastal Bluffs, and Distant Shore

Elephant Seal and Rock, Water’s Edge

Pier, San Francisco Bay, Morning

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