Tag Archives: northern

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Grove, Muir Woods

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Redwood Grove, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. December 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Redwood grove close to the start of winter at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

This grove of redwoods is in a a very accessible part of Muir Woods National Monument, along the mail trail along the creek that passes by the main entrance to the park. Probably just about everyone who at least hikes past the gift shop gets to this spot! This area near one of bridges across the creek (the second bridge, if I recall correctly) has a lot of interesting photographic subjects, some of which I’ve posted here before.

At this time of the year – late fall by the calendar, but early winter by climate – the forest is very wet, at least in a year like this one that seems like it may have more or less normal rainfall. The mosses begin to grow on exposed surfaces and tree trunks and some of the ferns that live through the winter are very green and lush – and it is wet everywhere.

The feeling of this scene, I think, incorporates all of that “wintery” stuff, but also captures the stillness and quiet found in the denser sections of the redwood forest. The red-brown straight and severe trunks of the redwoods are broken up a bit by the twisting and leaning shapes of some of the other trees, and everything is lit by soft diffused light from cloudy skies.

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.

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

Cattail and Grasses, Morning Light

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Cattail and Grasses, Morning Light

Cattail and Grasses, Morning Light. Castillero Pond, Calero Hills, California. August 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cattail stands among dry summer grasses at Castillero Pond, Calero Hills, California.

The next in the series – and, yes, there will likely be more! – of photographs of cattails and grasses from a recent morning shoot at Castillero Pond, not far from where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In these photographs I was playing with a whole series of ideas: the color and form of the late-season summer cattails in the warm morning side-lighting, the effect of blurring out the background of grasses and pond water, and the interesting color palette of yellow/gold, green, and blue. To a certain extent, I was also “going with the flow” since I had arrived at this pond with no strong preconceptions about what I would shoot- I had vague ideas concerning oak trees and open grassland and possibly photographing birds as I passed the pond – and then ended up being distracted by well over an hour by the subject of this series.

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

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Locations

‘Tis the Season for California Coastal Photography

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While summer is beautiful along the northern and central California coast – at least when everything isn’t fogged in! – my favorite time is the winter season. While I photograph the coast near the San Francisco Bay Area all year long, all too often summer here alternates between heavy coastal fog and (boring!) perfect sunshine.

Winter conditions are far more varied and interesting for photography. If fog is your thing, you get several types of fog here during the winter months. You can encounter the usual ocean fog, though it is not as frequent as during the summer months. But we also have ground-hugging tule fog, which is caused by relatively warm moisture on the ground (often following rainfall) forming low fog during cool conditions. While this is more common inland, it can affect areas near the coast as well. One of my favorite fog effects is one I’ve only seen during the winter; it is caused when huge pacific waves break on the coast in just the right conditions, forming a low lying mist right near the shoreline and sometimes paired with brilliantly sunny skies overhead.

The ocean itself is also more compelling during the winter. When the northern Pacific Ocean becomes stormy – even when the storms are a long way off – huge swells roll into the California coastline. (It is for this reason that the famous Mavericks surf contest is held in winter off the coast below San Francisco.) These waves are often 20 feet tall and sometimes much higher. Combine them with some very spectular coastline (I’ll mention a few places below) and stunning photography is possible.

In addition, as Pacific weather fronts come through, and especially as they pass inland and begin to clear, really wonderful cloud conditions occur along the coast. If you want to go for the obvious, pick a day of high surf as a Pacific front is clearing late in the day and – go for it! – shoot at sunset.

I’m fortunate to live a bit more than an hour from the Monterey Peninsula, so I head down that way if it looks like I’ll have good conditions on a give day. Point Lobos – where I photographed last weekend during high surf – is a common destination, but I’ll head south a bit further into the upper Big Sur area if I have time. Even closer, the coastline between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay provides outstanding, though sometimes less obvious, locations. Heading north, there are many options, but the Point Reyes area is often best photographed this time of year.

If you follow this blog, you know that I was at Point Lobos last week – I’ve posted several photographs from that visit already and there are a few more in the pipeline.