Tag Archives: peninsula

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Richardson Bay, Morning

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Richardson Bay, Morning
“Richardson Bay, Morning” — Photograph of Richardson Bay from Marin hills, showing Tiburon Peninsula, Angel Island, downtown Oakland, East Bay Hills, and Mount Diablo in the distance.

This photograph was shot from essentially the same position as the previous one, a black and white photo of the same vista, though with shorter focal length. I used a longer focal length here to try to enlarge to closer elements and leave out some of the stuff along the edges, and to minimize the amount of sky to some extent. I liked the color version of this – it was hard for me to think about giving up the nice overall blue haze, but even more to give up the was of light on some of the green grassy areas at the bottom of the frame.

There is quite a bit of stuff in this image, so let me describe what you see. At the bottom of the frame are hills above Marin City. Beyond the foreground hills you see Richardson Bay, which is an arm of San Francisco Bay near the entrance to Golden Gate. Across the bay we see the hills of the Tiburon Peninsula and beyond that looms the peak of Angel Island. In the distance and across San Francisco the buildings of downtown Oakland are visible through the low level backlit morning haze. Beyond are the East Bay Hills and the furthest peak is Mount Diablo, all the way out past Concord.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Richardson Bay and Tiburon, San Francisco Bay Morning Haze

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Richardson Bay and Tiburon, San Francisco Bay Morning Haze
Richardson Bay and Tiburon, San Francisco Bay Morning Haze

Richardson Bay and Tiburon, San Francisco Bay Morning Haze. Marin, California. February 12, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The San Francisco Bay and the haze covered East Bay beyond the waters of Richardson Bay.

When I headed over the Golden Gate on this early February winter morning I intended to end up photographing redwoods or along the coast north of San Francisco in the morning before heading south to go back home by midday. I ended up getting distracted by very interesting shooting conditions in the Marin Headlands of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and by the time I finished there I didn’t have enough remaining time to carry through on my original plans. But I did have a little time left, so I headed up to this spot along a ridge above Marin City where I know of a great view out over Richardson Bay, the Tiburon Peninsula, Angel Island, the Bay, past fog-shrouded Oakland, and on to the East Bay Hills.

This is a long lens landscape shot, for several reasons. First, the somewhat longer lens – though 159mm isn’t all that long – compresses distance a bit, both bringing Oakland’s downtown buildings a bit “closer” and foreshortening the very large distances a bit. It also lets me “edit” out some potentially distracting elements close to my shooting position and limit the scope of the image to just those elements that I wanted to include.

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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

Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees

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Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees
Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees

Rocky Knoll with Monterey Cypress Trees. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 8, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A grove of Monterey Cypress trees grows on top of a rocky ridge above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

In my continuing attempt to mine every bit of ore possible from this scene… this is a closer study of the same tree-covered knoll that I posted recently. The rocky hill is near the end of a thin peninsula between Whalers Cove and Bluefish Cove at Point Lobos. It is covered with a wild confusion of plants, Monterey cypress trees, and rocks and the whole thing drops suddenly to the edge of the Pacific Ocean right below.

This is another in a group of photographs that I sort of think of as “how much dense detail can I cram into one frame” photographs. For this reason, I’m pretty certain that this will have a better chance of making sense in a decent sized photograph in which the detail can be enjoyed a bit more than it can be in this small jpg.

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

Cypress Roots and Cliff Face

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Cypress Roots and Cliff Face
Cypress Roots and Cliff Face

Cypress Roots and Cliff Face. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 8, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Weathered Monterey Cypress roots grow on the face of a cliff at Point Lobos State Reserve.

This tree is getting a lot of exposure this week – it is the second or third photograph of the tree I have posted. To echo what I wrote regarding the earlier posting – though briefer this time – these stark and weathered roots growing on top of rocky ground – a cliff face in this case – remind me in some ways of gnarled timberline trees high in the Sierra Nevada with their old roots weathered to the point that they look almost as much like rock as like living things.

Some might think it odd, but I partially plan my wanderings around Point Lobos to avoid the sun as much as possible! I try to go there on days when it is overcast, and on days like this one where there is sun (though filtered by haze this time) I often search out shaded, north-facing areas so that I can shoot in soft, diffused light that fills in the shadows and does not sun-blast the bright areas of the scene.

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
Flickr | Twitter (follow me) | Facebook (“Like” my page) | 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.