Tag Archives: plant

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

Kelp, Weston Beach

February 26, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of kelp tossed up by winter storm surf at Weston Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I have already worked up a couple of color photographs from this day shooting the kelp washed up on the rocks of Weston Beach by big Pacific winter storms – but earlier this week I was in a black and white frame of mind (it was Ansel Adams’ birthday on February 20!) and thought I’d see where this one might go as a monochrome print. There are several things that I like about this image – though I’ll admit that it may not be one that initially grabs a viewer!. First, although it starts out looking like a pretty amorphous mass of seaweed, kelp, and other detritus, eventually I think that an overall form starts to appear – there are some rough patters formed by sequences of lighter material, by some of the stringy “branches” of the kelp, and by way of some lighter ribbon-like material looping through the image. Second, the print ends up with a wide range of tonalities, ranging from pure black to pure paper-white.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 105mm
ISO 200, f/16, 1/15 second

keywords: weston, beach, point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, wrack, leaf, float, stem, branch, rock, texture, plant, foliage, sea, ocean, pacific, shore, storm, tossed, nature, black and white, monochrome, coast, monterey, carmel, twist, scenic, travel, stock

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

Winter Ferns and Log

February 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Dormant winter ferns against a decaying log, Yosemite Valley, California.

The story behind finding this little bit of landscape is perhaps best not fully told – but I’ll share little background. I had driven west along Northside Drive in Yosemite Valley in the morning looking for bits of interesting light that can crop up even in the middle of the day during winter in that deep canyon. I had just made some photographs of the Cathedral Rocks area and decided it was time to move on. As I wandered back to the car I decided to, uh, “take a short walk into the woods” on the other side of the road. While there I noticed that some interesting dry ferns were peeking up from under the melting snow, so I decide to look around a bit more in this rather nondescript bit of forest. I finally found one little cluster of ferns that were arranged against the backdrop of an old decaying log and decided to make a few photographs of it before heading back to the car and moving on.

I like several things about this photograph, but among them is the fact that it isn’t an obvious “Yosemite photo” at all. In fact, you could find a similar sort of subject in any number of places if you just look carefully enough – which in Yosemite often means looking away from those iconic and quite obvious subjects from time to time.

(And, yes, it was intentional that I posted this photographic “homage” on February 20, the birthday of Ansel Adams. :-)

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: yosemite, national, park, valley, california, usa, north america, nature, winter, fern, plant, foliage, leaf, branch, log, wood, decay, texture, black and white, monochrome, forest, stock, curve, pattern

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Nimitz Avenue, Tower and Buildings

February 18, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tower, buildings, and power plant smokestack along Nimitz Avenue, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

One more, and perhaps the last, in the current series of Mare Island night photographs made with The Nocturnes during the first weekend of February. This scene is one that is well-known to Mare Island night photographers – a row of industrial buildings in the “historic core” of the old shipbuilding facility where huge overhead steel structures run between the machine shops and the old docks. In this photograph I decided to more or less shoot through the base of one of these giant towers. The scene is illuminated by bright and colorful artificial light and the photograph required an exposure of about a minute and a half. (I cheated and shot the 5D2 at ISO 200.) Though they may be hard to see in the small jpg, some star trails are visible in the sky near the smokestack of the old power plant.

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: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, historic, vallejo, california, usa, nocturnes, night, photography, structures, nimitz, avenue, street, railroad, track, puddle, water, reflection, tower, steel, yellow, ladder, industrial, rust, core, brick, wall, window, door, roof, asphalt, north america, sky, star, trails, cyclone, fence, smokestack, power, plant, stock

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

Kelp Detail #1, Weston Beach

January 31, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Detail of kelp and other debris (“wrack”) washed up by winter storms at Weston Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

This is another of the close up shots of kelp washed up on the shore at Weston Beach following a winter storm. There are several things that caught my eye on this pile of washed up sea trash… ;-) First, the shapes and colors of the kelp “floats” are intriguing, and I think more photogenic during this wetter time of year. I also liked the curving steps of the plants that wind through the frame from the left and up toward the right. Mixed in with this are some larger leaves with deeply ridged texture. Underlying all of this is the faintly colored sandstone and a few odd colorful stones.

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: kelp, plant, rock, pebble, sea, ocean, life, nature, washed, up, storm, debris, wrack, winter, point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, monterey, carmel, peninsula, pacific, pattern, brown, red, orange, yellow, rock, sandstone, landscape, detail, close, up, stock

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