Tag Archives: precursor

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

Precursors to a Storm

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Precursors to a Storm
High clouds over the Pacific Ocean herald an incoming weather front.

Precursors to a Storm. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High clouds over the Pacific Ocean herald an incoming weather front.

To be honest, the storm whose arrival was heralded by these clouds did not turn out to be much of a storm at all. It rained a bit further north in the state, but not much happened south of San Francisco. Unfortunately, it looks like California is headed for another very dry winter, with virtually no rain so far as we start into December, the heart of our rainy season. And there is no rain on the horizon according to long term forecasts.

Nonetheless, thinking that the sky might be interesting, I took a day trip down the Big Sur coast to see what I could find. It was, as is typical when a Pacific front is on its way, a lovely, sunny, and relatively warm day. These precursor clouds extending out ahead of the weather front were beautiful, and this particular formation convinced me to stop and make a series of photographs juxtaposing it above the calm ocean extending to the horizon.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pacific Sky

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Pacific Sky
High clouds above the Pacific Ocean are harbingers of an approaching weather system.

Pacific Sky. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High clouds above the Pacific Ocean are harbingers of an approaching weather system.

Trips into the field to photograph have been difficult during the past few months. Aside from a fair amount of local photography — literally in the neighborhood — visits to more far-flung locations have been rare. I managed to get to the Sierra a couple of times. I recently went looking for migratory birds. And a week ago I did a down-and-back drive to the upper Big Sur coast, going just a bit further south than Lucia. I did not make a lot of photographs, but I stopped for a few… and it was just good to get out and photograph almost as if the world was normal again. (It most emphatically is not normal yet, but there are some reasons for optimism.)

I had “interesting” weather on this visit — which, of course, is the best kind of weather along the coast. Perfect blue sky days are, to be honest, a bit boring. On this morning I raced the lead clouds of an approaching Pacific weather system as I drove south, trying to stay just ahead of the more dismal light behind the actual cloud shield. I stopped here for this beautiful layer of offshore clouds, put on a wide-angle lens, and just took it all in.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.