Tag Archives: point

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

Pacific Coast Highway, Clearing Fog

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Pacific Coast Highway, Clearing Fog
Pacific Coast Highway, Clearing Fog

Pacific Coast Highway, Clearing Fog. Pacific Coast Highway, California. May 26, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog clears above Rocky Point along the Pacific Coast Highway near Big Sur, California

I spent a good part of this beautiful spring day photographing along the upper half of California’ Big Sur coastline along the Pacific Coast Highway. On this potentially (and ultimately!) very busy holiday, I made a point of arriving early, since this area is so popular, especially on a day like this one when it was mostly sunny but with just enough fog to make it picturesque.

This photograph includes the area around Rocky Point which, while not being the main iconic view in this spot perhaps does come close to having that distinction. From the small arch in the foreground to the curving coast and seas stacks to the taller coastal mountains, the scene has many of the features that define this coastline. The fog was trying valiantly to maintain itself—driving into it the temperature dropped by many degrees and the wind whipped up—but the sun was winning.

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.

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

Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point

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Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point
Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point

Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point. Pacific Coast Highway, California. May 26, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light begins to shine through clearing fog above Bixby Bridge, Big Sur coast

On Memorial Day this year I figured that I might be able to rise very early and beat the worst of the holiday crowds to the Big Sur area of the Pacific Coast Highway south of Monterey and Carmel. And I was right—when I arrived there very early in the morning it not busy at all. (But a few hours later, after breakfast I presume, the crowds swelled impressively, and my drive back home took about twice as long as the early morning drive to the coast.)

This was one of a string of slightly-out-of-character clear weather late spring days along this coast. As many have discovered to their surprise and perhaps dismay, all of those beautiful sun-soaked photographs of summer along the Big Sur coast are also a big lie! In reality, you are far more likely to encounter fog. (If you want a better chance at clear skies, dress warmly and come in the winter between storms.) But this day was forecast to be warm and sunny along the coast and, in fact, the weather I first encountered was boring and blue. But a bit further south a stubborn bit of fog clung to the ridges above Bixby Bridge and a few other high points further south along the road. Entering these areas the winds whipped up to near gale levels and the temperature dropped as much as 20 degrees. The fog was not pervasive and in many places, such as this one, the sunlight was straggling through in spots. Some of the most beautiful light is found when filtered sunlight makes its way through the thin areas at the edges of fog banks, intensifying colors and bringing soft light into the shadows. Here the sun was peaking through closer to my position at Hurricane Point, though the fog was nearly obscuring the view further north at the famous Bixby Bridge.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | 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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Morning Light, Badlands Terrain

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Morning Light, Badlands Terrain
Morning Light, Badlands Terrain

Morning Light, Badlands Terrain. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light on tortured badlands formations, Death Valley National Park

I made this photograph at a truly iconic location (arguably the iconic location) at Death Valley National Park back in early April. While I don’t always photograph icons, and I make a point of looking for other things when photographing in well-known areas, I’m not anti-icon. My relationship with them is complex, but when I’m with someone who has not seen them before or when I visit a new place for the first time or when unusual and spectacular conditions arise… I’ll be there with everyone else. (Though sometimes I’ll be there without everyone else, since sometimes I go to these places in less likely conditions or an unusual times.)

All of this is my introduction to saying that I made this photograph at the famous Zabriskie Point area of Death Valley. I have photographed here quite a few times over the years, and while I don’t always revisit the spot, when I do I always find something interesting to photograph. It could be special conditions (clouds, full moon, haze, etc.), but more often I like to seek out smaller component elements of this famous landscape and see if I can make photographs of them. This terrain certainly provides plenty of opportunities! It is a rugged place where gully-riddled ridges are stacked one above the other, and at the right times of the day the light can glance across these elements in beautiful ways. The light in this photograph came well after dawn, when the sun had risen enough to begin to light the features more thoroughly, but on a morning when its intensity was diminished just enough by high, thin clouds.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | 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.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco

Departing Freighter

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Departing Freighter
Departing Freighter

Departing Freighter. San Francisco, California. March 14, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A freighter heads out of the Golden Gate and into the Pacific Ocean on a winter morning

I was on my way to a location north of the Golden Gate Bridge, having left home while it was still dark and crossing the bridge as the sky just begin to lighten. As I often do when I pass by here, I left the main highway for a short time and went up a ways into the Marin Headlands to see what sort of early morning light might appear over the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The lights of the City were still on at this early hour, so I first photographed in that direction.

There was a variety of types of clouds around the Bay—fog to the south and east, high clouds above, and a bit of general haze everywhere. As the sun came up behind the East Bay clouds and fog there was a bit of color, though the effect was subtle. A bit later this very large freighter approached the bridge as it prepared to leave the bay. It was one of the largest that I have seen pass beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. I went back to shooting other subjects, but my attention periodically went back to this ship as it moved farther off shore. Eventually a bit of muted sunlight hit the boat and some light came to the higher clouds as it headed on toward an off-shore fog bank and then, I imagine, a much longer voyage across the Pacific.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | 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.