Tag Archives: point lobos

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

Coal Chute Point

March 17, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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

Monterey Cypress, Cliffs

March 16, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Monterey Cypress trees growing at the edge of a rocky cliff above the Pacific Ocean, Point Lobos

It has been a very busy few weeks, for reasons I won’t explain here in detail. In any case, it was important today for me to head out and make some photographs. I originally had planned to go yesterday, but California’s strange weather wasn’t looking too promising, so I delayed for a day, hoping that the cloudiness that has been around might move further north. I was up early today and on the road, and while there were some clouds it looked like things might be a bit more interesting to the south by the ocean, so I headed towards the upper end of the Big Sur coast. (Usually I like clouds, but some types of clouds make for particularly challenging light.)

I arrived at Point Lobos within a half hour of its opening, which turned out to be critical as the place quickly became busy enough that they closed the entrance gates a few hours later! I started out in the Whalers Cove area and decided that I would walk along the north shore trail since I had in mind some photographs looking back towards this cove from higher ground. The light remained challenging for a while, but them changed to what can be a special sort of light, where high and thing clouds mute the intensity of the light but still give it a clear directional quality. This kind of light also fills the shadows better than more harsh light, and that allowed me to photograph the shady side of this rocky prominence topped with Monterey cypress trees.

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

Forest, Ridge, and Haze

December 13, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning haze mutes the details of forested coastal ridges along the California coast

Yes, yet another of the December black and white photographs — inspired by all of the black and white “challenge” posting going on right now. This photograph comes from 2010 when I made one of my frequent visits to the Point Lobos area along the California coast south of Monterey, an area that I have visited for decades. The typical focus of those visits is the shoreline itself, which is very spectacular here and which produces a wide range of moods throughout the year.

The photograph was made at Point Lobos, but much of what you see is not actually in this state park. The foreground forest is, but the high coastal hills rising beyond are outside the park. As beautiful as the ocean is, there is a lot to see if you turn your eyes in the opposite direction, too! On this morning there was high, thin cloudiness along with a great deal of backlit atmospheric haze — perhaps my favorite conditions for photographing scenes like this one! The haze glows in the backlight, and it mutes the smaller “busy” features of the landscape, allowing the larger forms to be seen more clearly… and perhaps evoking a sense of mystery.

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

Blue Hour, Point Lobos

July 31, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening “blue hour” light along the Pacific Ocean shoreline at Point Lobos State Reserve

I have been visiting Point Lobos for decades, beginning when I was a young child. Point Lobos was on the circuit of parks in the greater San Francisco Bay Area that my parents regularly visited, and back in those days my elementary school even took field trips there to investigate tide pools. I have continued to visit often since that time. You would think that by now I would know every nook and cranny of this place but, as is always the case, there is still more to see and to learn about it.

For example, although I’m positive I must have seen this line of rocks extending into the surf many times over the years, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I recognized it as a potential photographic subject and even then I did not immediately see its relationship to the further shoreline. On this mid-winter (my favorite time to visit Point Lobos!) day I shot many subjects before finding myself here in the evening shortly after sunset, when the world takes on a magical and rich blue tone and ocean fog was beginning to appear over the coast.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: point lobos

Coal Chute Point

Monterey Cypress, Cliffs

Forest, Ridge, and Haze

Blue Hour, Point Lobos

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