Tag Archives: point

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

Kelp and Rock, Weston Cove

October 26, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dried kelp on rocks near the surf line at Weston Cove, Point Lobos.

On this late-October Saturday I traveled to the Monterey Peninsula for the opening of Charlie Cramer’s ‘Earth, Water, Light’ show and lecture at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel. (You should go if you are in the area! The show runs from now through the end of the year and perhaps a week or so beyond.) With a winter-season Pacific storm coming in I wasn’t certain of what to expect from the weather, but ended up shooting in some wonderful light at Point Lobos.

There are many subjects to shoot there, and the light is one of the main factors (along with the season, the time of day, and random inclinations…) determining the subjects I’ll focus on. With the edge of the high clouds from the approaching storm diffusing the light it seemed like a good opportunity to shoot the rocks and kelp and other subjects along the shore line. When I shoot these subjects, especially in and around Point Lobos, I often have to slow down and just wander and look before I can really see the possibilities. A quick glance more or less gets me no farther than, “Look! Kelp! And rocks!” But if I wander around slowly and look carefully I’ll usually find some things of special interest among the piles of stones and kelp and other stuff that washes up. I often seen the thick tubular kelp forms like the one at the bottom of this frame, but seeing it with the more delicate material still attached – much less spread out this way on the rocks – is unusual, so I spent some time working with this subject.

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.

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature

Trees and Boulders, Artist Point

September 6, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ridgetop trees and boulders along the trail catch the afternoon light at Artist Point, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.

I had been admiring this steep, rugged, and distant ridge all afternoon, starting with our first shooting location down lower on the mountain. As we hiked up the Artist Point trail, we took a detour to the right and I noticed this low rocky ridge covered with trees and the ridge in the distance. At first I couldn’t quite see a shot and I looked elsewhere, but soon I came back to this spot and thought that something with the foreground rocks and trees along with the clouds and more distant ridge might be interesting – but as soon as I saw this a large cloud floated over and blocked the sun from my position, leaving the nearby trees and rocks in shade!

Sometimes when this happens it makes more sense to move on and look for a photograph that works with the conditions you have, but other times it can be worth waiting. It is hard to know for sure which is right, but I decided to set up and sit tight, waiting to see if the light would improve. The light shining around the edge of the cloud was tantalizingly close, but the cloud was stubborn about moving. At one point the light increased a bit for perhaps 15-20 seconds, but then quickly went away. I continued to wait. Finally, the light began to gradually increase, and I got about one minute or less of sun before the cloud again blocked the light – but this was long enough to make a few exposures of this scene.

I have a favor to ask of anyone who is familiar with this area – help in identifying the trees and, even more, help in identifying/naming the distant ridge and the peaks that sit on it. I’m not great at plant identification, but I’m really out of my league in the Cascades. One person walking by as I made the shot seemed to think that the trees are mountain hemlock – but I’d be grateful if anyone can confirm this… or set me straight. Although I was impressed with the peaks on the ridge in the distance in this photograph… I do not have any Washington topographical maps or guide books, so I’m completely in the dark about what to call this ridge or the peaks. Here, too, I would be grateful if anyone can help me identify the ridge, the peaks, and any other important features in the photograph.

Update: A Facebook reader shared information about the peaks on the distant ridge in this photograph…

Alan Majchrowicz writes: “From left to right, Tomyhoi Peak, Canadian and American Border Peaks, Larrabee Mountain. Nice photo Dan, hope I can break away this week and spend some time up there!”

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.

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

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #1 – July 10, 2010

July 25, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Black and white photograph of abstract rock patterns near Weston Beach at Point Lobos State Reserve.

This detail of the Point Lobos shoreline rocks was also photographed in an area just a bit north of Weston Cove where large rocks are lifted up at striking angles and the surf has worn away successive layers of sedimentary rock to reveal wild patterns. Some of the colors in this bit of rock were quite intense – the rock on the left is intensely reddish-brown in the original capture – and seemed to overwhelm the subtle patterns, especially those on the right side of the image.

I don’t know if it is apparent but this is a highly post-processed image. I don’t think it is necessary to spoil the fun by going into all of the gory details, but this image depends quite a bit on work in post.

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.

(Basic EXIF data is available by “mousing over” large images in blog posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)

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

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 – July 10, 2010

July 17, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Detail of patterns in eroded shoreline rocks, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Another photograph of eroded rock patterns near the water not far from Weston Cove at Point Lobos. Here the top layer of reddish rock has worn away in places, leaving a much lighter layer of what I guess is some kind of sandstone below. I’m no geologist, but this section of seashore has fascinating rock formations on the small and large scale where many strata have been exposed by the surf. In some places there a big gobs of conglomerate rock, composed of many smaller rocks “glued” together. In other places very thin layers lie one on top of the other and they have been partially uncovered and worn away by the surf, creating amazing patterns.

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 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 100, f/16, 1/6 second

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