Tag Archives: point

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

Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point

May 29, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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

April 29, 2014 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

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.

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

Departing Freighter

March 27, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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

Kelp and Stone

February 27, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I met a group of photographer friends at Point Lobos on this mid-February day, where we spent the entire morning photographing before taking a midday break, followed by a quick visit to another location a bit further down the Pacific Coast Highway, and then a return to Point Lobos in the early evening. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, we started shooting near Weston Beach – but perhaps to everyone’s surprise, we were still shooting there when lunchtime rolled around! Fortunately, the light was somewhat cooperative, with some high clouds muting the sun that would otherwise have been too intense by that time of day.

We did not limit ourselves entirely to Weston Beach, and we wandered a bit north and south along bluff and rocks at times, photographing the huge winter surf. Eventually I ended up back at the “beach” (which seems not very beach-like at all, being mostly layered rock and big gravelly rocks) where I always like to look around slowly for interesting arrangements of whatever the sea throws up here. In one spot I found a pair of marble-round rocks, one pink and the other deep blue. Here I found a beautifully twisted and curved bit of kelp sitting on top of deeply patterned rocks not far from the edge of the water. In fact, it was so close to the water’s edge that I was only able to make a couple of exposures before a wave came far enough up on the beach to wash this kelp back out into the sea.

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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

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: point

Clearing Fog, From Hurricane Point

Morning Light, Badlands Terrain

Departing Freighter

Kelp and Stone

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