Tag Archives: pacific

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

Sunset Surf, Big Sur Coastline

January 12, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

The last sunlight of the day gently lights the winter surf and coastal bluffs along highway one on the Big Sur coast of California.

This photograph is the result of a bit of good luck and a bit of planning. On this morning I heard a weather report that included a high surf warning for the northern and central California coast. I’m always alert to this in the winter since this can create some amazing photographic opportunities. With that in mind I decided somewhat spontaneously to finish up a few other tasks and then try to get to Point Lobos for some late afternoon and early evening photography there.

As I approached Point Lobos in the mid-afternoon it became apparent that I wasn’t the only person out and about on this last weekend of the holiday season! The entrance to Point Lobos itself was closed because all the parking lots were full, and scores of cars were filling the roadside pullouts near the park. Since I can go there when it isn’t so crowded I decided to change my plans and head south down the coast, ultimately going almost to Granite Creek.

At one point where the road made a broad curve to the right I was able to look back and see this panorama. I stopped only long enough to take a quick look and spot a use trail heading down toward the edge of the bluff. I made a mental note that this might be an interesting scene to shoot in the last light of the day, and then I got back in the car and continued south.

After finishing up a final shot shortly after 4:00 I decided to head back to this location. On one hand the light didn’t look too promising, as some high clouds were thickening and moving down the coast. However, it looked to me like it might remain clearer right above the horizon – I thought there was a chance of some “surprise light” just before sunset, and it seemed like this spot might catch a bit of it. With that in mind I drove back here, loaded up my gear, and wandered out to the edge of the bluff where I found this panorama.

With or without photography, it was a spectacular spot. The large Pacific swell was coming straight in to the beach below me to the right, and bluffs and sea stacks and surf stretched back up the coastline toward the Carmel Highlands and the Point Lobos area and interesting clouds were forming above. Now all I needed was a bit of luck with that sun peeking under the clouds at last light – and for about a minute or two I got the soft, warm light I had hoped for.

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.

keywords: big, sur, coast, coastline, winter, season, seascape, pacific, ocean, california, usa, sea, water, surf, wave, stock, highway, one, scenic, travel, nature, bluff, rock, seastack, cloud, sky, blue, sunset, dusk, light, mountain, hill, ridge, road, horizon, evening, beach, spray, fog, mist, foam, landscape, plant, rugged

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

Beach Walker, Evening, Waddell Creek Beach

December 31, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A solitary beach walker at sunset approaches a flock of gulls at Waddell Creek Beach with clouds reflected in foreground pond.

This seemed like a good “last day of the year” photograph.

Just as the sun dropped to the horizon a lone beach walker came across this strand between this reflecting pond and the surf beyond and approached a flock of sea gulls. If I look at this photograph just right I can imagine that it is wholly a photograph of sky with a narrow “beach bridge” crossing through the middle.

This is one of a short sequence of photographs I made on this evening. I had spent the entire afternoon more or less looking for the right photographic subjects and had come up with nothing. I had just made what I figured would be my last stop for the day at the “official” beachfront parking lot at Waddell Beach. I got out, looked around, enjoyed the wind and sound of surf, but didn’t see anything that quite inspired me to take out the camera. I got back in the car, turned south on Highway 1… and a few seconds later as I crossed the bridge over the creek I saw the pool reflecting the sky. I quickly turned around and parked the car and made a few exposures in the fading light.

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.

keywords: waddell, creek, beach, big, basin, california, usa, state, park, pacific, ocean, stock, person, man, hiker, walker, sand, pond, pool, reflection, sky, cloud, sunset, dusk, evening, sky, colorful, wave, surf, ripple, nature, seascape, landscape, gulls, birds, flock, sea, shore, shoreline, coast, bluff, cliff, headland, seaweed, kelp, spray, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Bonita Lighthouse, Marin Headlands

December 26, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of the Point Bonita Lighthouse above the Pacific Ocean surf of the Marin Headlands with the south side of the Golden Gate beyond.

I earlier posted a photograph of the inland side of Point Bonita – this one is from the Pacific Coast side, high on bluffs just north of the Point Bonita Lighthouse and looking south back across the outer entrance to the San Francisco Bay. This is a very rugged bit of coastline here between the Bay and Rodeo Beach and Fort Cronkhite just to the north, where there is a wide beach at the end of a valley.

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.

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

Point Bonita, Pacific Ocean

December 24, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of morning light on coastal cliffs and beaches near the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands with the Pacific Ocean beyond – Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

This photograph represents another “stop the car, back up, and shoot this now!” moments – the second one during a single weekend.

I had taken a long day to photograph north of San Francisco, ostensibly with the excuse of having to meet someone in the City that evening – heck, might as well leave early and spend the day shooting, right? I had only vague plans to head across the Golden Gate Bridge when I started out that morning, but I stopped near the north end and headed up into the Marin Headlands when I saw some pretty special lighting and atmospheric conditions over the Bay. After shooting that general subject (including photos of the Bridge, the Bay, and the City posted earlier and still to come) I drove on up the road and then out toward Point Bonita.

The last part of this road is a narrow, twisty one-way drive high on the coastal hills above the outer reaches of the Golden Gate. As I came around one turn the view opened up and I saw – for the first time, though I’ve been here before – this great view of Point Bonita and the Pacific. I quickly stopped, set up, and made a few exposures.

The Point Bonita area is an interesting one. All along this section of the Marin Headlands are found old forts and artillery sites, supposedly to protect the Bay from invasion by sea. There is no longer a military presence here – this is now part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, but many of the historic sites remain. Point Bonita itself is the site of a lighthouse at the north edge of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It is a wild place. Not only it is in a spectacular location of tall coastal bluffs and steep cliffs that is fully open to the power of the Pacific, but the lighthouse itself is on a small island set slightly apart from the main landmass. The only way to get to it is to walk a trail along the steep cliffs – which passes through a tunnel at one point – then cross the top of the low bluff, and then walk the bridge to the small island.

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.

keywords: california, usa, travel, scenic, san francisco, bay, area, golden, gate, national, recreation, area, park, stock, marin, county, headlands, point, bonita, fort, historic, beach, coast, shore, pacific, ocean, coastline, waves, surf, horizon, sky, clouds, bluffs, rocks, island, trees, nature, landscape, seascape, tower, antenna, trail, road, travel, scenic, black and white, monochrome, stock, morning, light

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