Tag Archives: ocean

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Surf, Rocks, Clearing Fog

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Surf, Rocks, Clearing Fog
Morning fog begins to clear over rocky islands along the Pacific coast.

Surf, Rocks, Clearing Fog. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog begins to clear over rocky islands along the Pacific coast.

One of my habits is, when possible, to head for the Pacific Coast sound of Monterey early in the morning, especially on days when I think that there will be coastal fog and it will likely clear at some point during the morning. The thickest fog can be dramatic, but it can also kill the light — but when it starts to clear and the light begins to come into the scene, the effects can be glorious. The fog may glow, colors on the water and hills can be enhanced, and views of the sky above the fog begin to emerge.

On this late-March morning I decided to make a stop at Point Lobos, where a big, early-spring surf was making things interesting. From a great distance I photographed this scene with a long lens as big breakers swept over the edges of the rocky islands and as the fog began to thin and reveal blue sky above.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Departing The Golden Gate

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Departing The Golden Gate
A ship and barge head out off the Golden Gate and into a Pacific Ocean sunset.

Departing The Golden Gate. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A ship and barge head out off the Golden Gate and into a Pacific Ocean sunset.

Oddly, so many photographs seem to have a different and unexpected context in this time of social distancing and relative confinement to our homes and neighborhoods. Some photographers are moving to photographs of things in or around their homes. (I’ve done a bit of that, too.) Some are reaching back into their image archives to discover photographs that they/we had left behind. And a few are ignoring the guidelines and heading out into the field… or else taking advantage of the loosening of restrictions as the new announcements come out. (I’m hoping for a bit of that soon, too!)

Although the evening of this photograph was eight years ago, I recall it fairly well. I had been photographing somewhere else north of the Golden Gate. I started back home in the late afternoon, pausing in this area before crossing the bridge to San Francisco — the timing was fortuitously right to be here at sunset. It was an evening of beautiful sky, with bands of clouds stretching to the horizon as a ship and barge headed out into the ocean.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Pacific Sky

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Pacific Sky
Pacific Ocean sky, California Coast.

Pacific Sky. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific Ocean sky, California Coast.

One of the things I miss most during this time of travel restrictions is the chance to be in the grand landscape, the landscape of deserts, mountains, ocean, and valleys that extends into the far distance. I do get outside daily, for neighborhood walks and to work in our garden, but all of these are landscapes on a much smaller scale.

I made this photograph last year on a foray down the California coast, where I can never get enough of the grand westward views out over the ocean and toward the distant horizon. On this day the scene was softened by big clouds and atmospheric haze over the ocean that glowed in the sunlight.

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 and Amazon.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Curving Beach, Fog

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Curving Beach, Fog
Fog retreats to the shoreline above a curving beach near Point Sur

Curving Beach, Fog. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fog retreats to the shoreline above a curving beach near Point Sur.

This is the same location where I made a couple of other recently posted photographs — a spot along the Pacific Coast Highway not far from the town of Big Sur, where a long, curving beach runs out toward a peninsula that has long been the home to an iconic California light house.

Much to my surprise, I encountered really beautiful conditions on this morning visit to the area. The forecast had called for essentially clear conditions, but I was instead greeted by a persistent fog bank that remained right along the coast, stubbornly intruding into the hills in some locations, while pulling back and allowing sunlight over the ocean in others. This scene was dynamic as I photographed it, with the fog intermittently rising and falling or drifting across this scene, located near the delta of a river that empties into the Pacific near the small hill sitting on the beach.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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