Tag Archives: peninsula

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

Hiking Family, Whalers Cove

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Hiking Family, Whalers Cove
A family hiking along a wildflower-covered bluff above Whalers Cove, Point Lobos

Hiking Family, Whalers Cove. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 14, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A family hiking along a wildflower-covered bluff above Whalers Cove, Point Lobos

Whalers Cove is a lovely, sheltered cove at Point Lobos. Its inlet points more toward the inside of Carmel Bay than towards open ocean, so its waters are often nearly smooth as they were on this mid-July visit. Between the gentle surf and the fog, it was a surprisingly quiet and peaceful place — a few scuba divers were there, along with a small number of hikers.

I took the trail from here that ascents to the bluffs above the north shore of the park. Halfway up the initial climb I stopped and looked back at the cove. I decided to pause and make a photograph of the rocky formations on the other side of the water, with the coastal hills rising beyond. As I worked a family appeared on the wildflower-covered bluff — mom, dad, and three kids. Watching them make their way slowly along this trail reminded me of times many years ago when we came here with our now-grown-up children.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos

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Coastal Forest, Point Lobos
Dense forest atop bluffs above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 14, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dense forest atop bluffs above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve

Point Lobos State Reserve, located just above the Big Sur coastline, is not a large park, but it packs a lot of beauty into a small park. I have visited for decades, beginning long ago when my parents moved the family to California when I was about four years old and we used to take day trips there to picnic and visit the tide pools. (Today’s visitors would be shocked to know that it once was a quiet place not overrun by crowds. Ah, well.) In my teens, when I first became serious about photography, I used to go there and try to channel my inner Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. And, often to my surprise, I still find new surprises almost every time I visit.

On this mid-July visit I arrived in the morning on a weekday shortly after the park opened and before too many other people were there. I was hoping to time my visit for the breaking up of the morning fog, but it stayed foggy the entire time. I parked my car, shouldered a pack full of camera gear, and spent the next few hours wandering slowly and almost aimlessly across the northern half of the park, just looking and enjoying the cool coastal air. Eventually I found myself on familiar ground, walking along the north shore trail. I have passed this spot many times before and may even have photographed this bit of forest, but I had not really noticed these two light-barked trees — one twisted and one straight — surrounded by incredibly dense forest growth.

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: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Lake and Peninsula

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Lake and Peninsula
Trees grow on a peninsula at a Yosemite subalpine lake, late summer

Lake and Peninsula. Yosemite National Park, California. September 12, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees grow on a peninsula at a Yosemite subalpine lake, late summer

We have passed nearly halfway though our annual circuit around the sun since I made this photograph. It is now slightly past midwinter, and the photograph was made in late summer, a few weeks before the arrival of solar fall, though the signs of autumn were already everywhere in this drought-affected portion of the Sierra backcountry.

The haze in the atmosphere beyond the peninsula with its sunlit trees comes from wildfires that were burning all over Yosemite and the rest of the Sierra. One small one was burning just across a nearby ridge and a more distant but larger fire periodically fill the air with thick smoke. Wildfire smoke is a normal feature at the end of the season, but this year it was much worse than normal. Fortunately, every day the winds shifted, the smoke moved away, and we got some beautiful near-autumn weather — time to enjoy the golden-brown meadow grasses, walks around the lake, and the occasional climb up onto grants slabs that rose from its shoreline.

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: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coal Chute Point

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Coal Chute Point
Coal Chute Point

Coal Chute Point. Point Lobos, California. March 15, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bench on the bluff at Coal Chute Point, with inlet and peninsulas leading toward green hills, Point Lobos

A few days ago I needed to go make photographs, following a period during which that has not been possible, so I headed off towards the Monterey Peninsula with a vague plan that might have ended up here at Point Lobos or could have taken me further down the coast highway. It was overcast further north and inland, so I figured that by going south a bit I could find better light. In fact, I did, though it was not without its challenges — though the challenges of thin clouds (with their softened light) and haze usually appeal to me.

Without thinking about it a lot I ended up at Point Lobos, a place I have visited regularly since my family first came to California when I was four years old. Needless to say, this is familiar territory for me! I arrived shortly after the park opened and I headed straight to Whalers Cove and soon saw the peninsulas across this bay fading into atmospheric haze and finally to the “impossibly green” hills of the coastal range — and I knew that this would be my first subject for the day.

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.