Tag Archives: one

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

Monterey Pines, Fog

March 30, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Monterey Pines growing along cliff tops on the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve with Carmel coastline visible in the distance.

These beautiful and tough Monterey Cypress trees grow at the edges of cliffs above the Pacific Ocean along the north shore of Point Lobos, and on this foggy morning the outline of the Carmel shoreline was just barely visible beyond them. The light was difficult, but I think it ended up helping produce a very moody image that, for me, evokes that feeling of walking though this area on such a morning.

I’m one of those strange people who is usually a bit disappointed when the weather here is clear! In fact, I’ll change my mind and decide not to go photograph at Point Lobos if I hear it is going to be a beautiful blue sky day. My ideal is a day with fog or clouds or rain, and especially so if there is a chance that a bit of light might try to break through clearing (or arriving) clouds.

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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.

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

Big Sur Coast Near Bixby Creek, Winter

January 17, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Light winter rain falls on the rugged Big Sur coastline near Bixby Creek.

This is one more – and perhaps the final – photograph from New Years Day 2011 along the Big Sur coast line. While this is perhaps not your chamber of commerce picture perfect day, it is my kind of Big Sur day. As I made the photograph the wind was absolutely howling – so strong that I couldn’t really use my tripod, so I instead hand held the camera and braced it and myself against a very large boulder. To make things even more “fun,” it was trying very hard to rain!

The location is precisely at the spot where many of the iconic photographs of Bixby Bridge are made, at the north end of the bridge. However, on this day I thought that the subdued tones of the winter ocean and cliffs were more interesting, so I framed my photographs to avoid including the bridge.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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

Pelican Above Water

January 9, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A solo pelican coasts above the surface of the Pacific Ocean near the central California coast.

There is not too much to say about this one – since I posted a companion pelican photograph yesterday! This one is also “from the archives” – a photograph from last May that I found as I looked through last year’s raw files one last time.

(For those who are reading this in the archives, a bit more information. I frequently photograph pelicans along the California Pacific Ocean shoreline. This photograph was made from a location where I can access the top of a coastal bluff that drops almost immediately straight down to the water. The pelicans seem to make a habit of cruising up and down the tops of these bluffs on the updrafts that are created by the onshore breeze, and they fly very close to the bluff edges where I can photograph them close up.)

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.

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

Big Sur Coastline at Bixby Creek, Winter

January 5, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A winter storm approaches the bluffs of the Big Sur coastline at Bixby Creek.

This is, as you may have noticed, the same scene as that in yesterday’s photograph – but this time in portrait mode and composed to focus on the receding edge of the land as it meets the winter sea off of the Big Sur coast. To recap, it was raining lightly and blowing hard enough to almost knock me over when I made this photograph. The wind was coming straight at my camera position out of the south. Since I figured my tripod would probably blow right over in one of the gusts, I decided to use a “natural tripod” and instead drape myself over a conveniently placed boulder and brace the camera on the top of the rock.

This is a wild section of the coastline that forces the coast highway to ascend well above the steep shoreline bluffs and cliffs. I am intrigued by the rock pile that has slid off the face of the tall cliff at the left and collected along the beach in front of and beyond the cave at the waterline. I was surprised to see a small number of footprints in the sand on this little beach!

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