Tag Archives: point lobos

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Light and Dark Sandstone

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Light and Dark Sandstone
Light and Dark Sandstone

Light and Dark Sandstone. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 27, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bit or remaining red sandstone sits on top of an underlying layer of lighter rock, Point Lobos State Reserve

Near the end of April I found time for a quick visit to Point Lobos State Reserve, south of Carmel in the Monterey Peninsula/Big Sur region. This is a place I have photographed for many years, so I know specific rocks and trees quite well. Photographing here often provides a sort of tension between continuing to refine how I see things that I have known for decades and trying to locate new subjects. In addition to the constantly changing patterns of the Pacific Ocean itself and the mostly stable elements of the rocky shoreline and forests, the weather always changes and the wildlife provides unending variations.

When I decided to go there on this morning I should have remembered that this is the weekend of the annual Big Sur Marathon, which mostly closes sections of the coast highway in the area for an hour or more at a time. But I didn’t remember… until I got to the Carmel Valley road block. I lined up for the periodic car caravans that were scheduled to leave every 90 minutes, picked up a cup of coffee and waited. Eventually we followed a highway patrol vehicle down the highway, and I soon turned off into an almost entirely deserted Point Lobos State Reserve. The solitude I found on this day when few others came to the park made up for the delay in getting there! Because the light was filtered through high clouds I decide to spend some time photographing these beautifully sea-sculpted sandstone formations along the rocky shoreline.

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.

Equipment, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Wildlife

Harbor Seal Family

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Harbor Seal Family

Harbor Seal Family. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A family trio of harbor seals rests on an offshore rock at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I photographed this family group (at least they sure acted like a family!) on an offshore rock just above the surf line on the late April weekend when I almost had the whole of Point Lobos State Reserve to myself. (I wrote about this earlier – a marathon had closed the coast highway and almost no one else was in the park.) I think the seals were a bit less wary than they might be because of the very small number of people in the park – actually, I was the only person near them for a good long time. I had a great chance to observe them uninterrupted, and from two slightly different locations – after shooting from this spot I moved far to the right where I could shoot back at the far side of the rock.

I found it interesting that they were very aware of my presence and seemed to pay more obvious attention to me than I have seen in the past. The lighter color seal on the right stared right at me for long periods of time on several occasions, even though I was quite a distance away and standing nearly motionless. Once or twice all three gazed my direction. I wasn’t sure who was observing who! The darker seal on the left seemed to be the least active, only occasionally rolling around and scratching the back (yes, they do this!) of the others, especially the smaller one in the far middle in this shot.

I’m still working out the best ways to photograph creatures like these. Learning their habits a bit helps, as does arriving at the right time – in terms of season, time of day, weather, and the good fortune of being there on an uncrowded day at Point Lobos. I’d like to get shots from a lower angle, but this can be difficult. I think the seals are much less likely to be close to the shore in such places.

I have a very large number of photographs of this group, and I may post more eventually.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Spring Grass, Point Lobos

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Spring Grass, Point Lobos

Spring Grass, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring grass in the pine forest at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Unfortunately, I’m not expert enough at plant identification to come up with a more precise title than “Spring Grass, Point Lobos.” (Yes, that is an open invitation to friendly botanists to offer up a more precise identification! :-) While I was photographing Rattlesnake Grass – photo posted recently – in this spot in the pine forest at Point Lobos I also noticed the impressive seed heads of this nearby grass. This is another of my plant photographs made with the unlikely 70-200mm zoom lens – again, the long focal length lets me work from a slightly greater distance and use the narrow DOF of the longer lens to create a nice out of focus background.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: grass, seed, head, stalk, blade, green, forest, grove, pine, shade, spring, cluster, bokeh, blur, soft, pine, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, nature, scenic, travel, carmel, monterey, peninsula, foliage, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Textures

Grass, Point Lobos

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Grass, Point Lobos

Grass, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A thick carpet of spring grass at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

As I hiked through the pine forest in the southern part of the Point Lobos State Reserve on a foggy day during the last weekend of April the spring grasses and wildflowers (and poison oak!) were growing everywhere. I had stopped to photograph a scene of pines with a meadow containing yellow flowers when I spotted one large clump of very green grass that had been blown or otherwise pushed into this interesting pattern.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: grass, plant, carpet, mat, thick, pattern, green, bud, flower, blade, leaf, foliage, vegetation, plant, nature, forest, floor, pine, grove, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, travel, scenic, monterey, carmel, peninsula, stock