Tag Archives: one

Rocky Beach, Cove, and Fog

Rocky Beach, Cove, and Fog
Rocky Beach, Cove, and Fog

Rocky Beach, Cove, and Fog. Big Sur Coast, California. July 4, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A rocky beach and cove on a foggy summer morning along the Big Sur coast

On July 4 (of all days!) I headed out rather early so that I could make it to the upper Big Sur coastline before the tourist traffic arrived. I succeeded, and there were very few people when I arrived on the foggy coast and drove slowly south while looking for photographs. It being a major holiday, within a few hours the Pacific Coast Highway was filled with visitors, and I turned around and headed back home.

I like several things about this photograph, and most of them have to do with the fact that, in many ways, there is little all that special about the scene. I’m not sure that I could even find this particular cove again, at least not without some careful searching — this coastline is almost a continuum of such places, and almost anywhere you stop and look around a bit you can find such scenes. The fog is another typical element, especially in the summer months, when many visitors are surprised to find that the beautiful sunny scenes that they have seen in photographs are the exception rather than the rule. A typical summer morning in this region? Fog! To many of us Californians, however, this is part of the appeal. On a day when only a few miles inland the temperatures were well into the ninety degree range and perhaps higher, along this coastline I could enjoy the welcome and cool and damp of the coastal fog.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

Thanks a Million!

MillionViewsAtBlog

I missed the millionth view at the G Dan Mitchell Photography blog — I was busy working on a photograph — but not by much! Sometime before 9:00 PM PDT the blog served up its millionth page view.

Thank you to all of you who follow the blog and my photography. I appreciate it!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

Thanks (Almost) A Million

AlmostOneMillion20120718

Just saw this chart on the stats page of my blog G Dan Mitchell Photography. Cool! Perhaps only a few hours away from a million views of the blog. Thanks to all who have visited and read it!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | 500px.com | 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.

Elephant Seal Nursery

Elephant Seal Nursery
Elephant Seal Nursery

Elephant Seal Nursery. Piedras Blancas, California. January 31, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The elephant seal nursery at Piedras Blancas, California

A virtual blanket of elephant seals spreads across the beach just above the waterline at the Piedras Blancas elephant seal “nursery.” During the winter months these large and impressive animals come ashore to give birth and to breed, and after a strong recover during recent decades their numbers have increased greatly, to the point that it is not possible to find them in a number of locations along the Pacific Ocean coast, and not just in those set aside specifically for them.

A still photograph like this one lies at least a little bit, or perhaps just tells a bit less than the full truth. The scene looks very static, with almost no sign of animals doing anything other than lying prone in the sand. In fact, there does seem to be a lot of “sunbathing” going on here! But there is activity. The babies and juveniles are sometimes found huddled together in groups, occasionally cuddled up next to one of the adult females, and quite often nursing. Occasional territorial disputes arise, and they often seem to be settled by some noisy bluffing and baring of teeth. (The battles between large males are a different story, and they can be quite violent and even bloody.) Occasionally one of the seals move up onto the beach or leaves it for the water — if you look closely you can probably spot a few on the move in the photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | 500px.com | 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.