Tag Archives: reflection

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain

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Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain. Near Davenport, California. December 15, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Coastal rock formations glisten in the rain as an evening squall approaches the Pacific Coast north of Davenport, California.

Late on a rainy afternoon earlier this week it seemed like the sky might clear enough to make for some spectacular evening shooting along the California coast near Davenport. I headed over the hill to Santa Cruz and started north up the Coast Highway in post-storm clear air with a few puffy clouds offshore. However, as I passed through Davenport I could see a squall line to the northwest, just beginning to move between me and the bright sky to the west. Being either brave or foolish I kept heading north until near Greyhound Rock where the cold rain started. I headed back south, almost to Davenport, before pulling over along a beach where the road descends to near sea level. Although it wasn’t raining here yet, the clouds were clearly heading this way. I grabbed my camera pack and tripod and put on some extra clothes and headed across the beach to the waters edge before turning north toward some low rocks at the end of the beach. Soon it started raining, but at this point I wasn’t about to go home empty-handed so I continued up onto the rocks and managed to make a few exposures in the rain as the squall line approached, the wind picked up, and the rain increased.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: rock, formation, pool, evening, squall, storm, cell, rain, cloud, downpour, shower, pool, tide, wave, surf, shore, coast, beach, strata, reflection, sun, light, pattern, moss, pacific, ocean, coast, sea, wet, santa cruz, davenport, highway, one, scenic, weather, landscape, seascape, travel, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain

Leave a comment
Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain. Near Davenport, California. December 15, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Coastal rock formations glisten in the rain as an evening squall approaches the Pacific Coast north of Davenport, California. (Black and white version)

Late on a rainy afternoon earlier this week it seemed like the sky might clear enough to make for some spectacular evening shooting along the California coast near Davenport. I headed over the hill to Santa Cruz and started north up the Coast Highway in post-storm clear air with a few puffy clouds offshore. However, as I passed through Davenport I could see a squall line to the northwest, just beginning to move between me and the bright sky to the west. Being either brave or foolish I kept heading north until near Greyhound Rock where the cold rain started. I headed back south, almost to Davenport, before pulling over along a beach where the road descends to near sea level. Although it wasn’t raining here yet, the clouds were clearly heading this way. I grabbed my camera pack and tripod and put on some extra clothes and headed across the beach to the waters edge before turning north toward some low rocks at the end of the beach. Soon it started raining, but at this point I wasn’t about to go home empty-handed so I continued up onto the rocks and managed to make a few exposures in the rain as the squall line approached, the wind picked up, and the rain increased.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: black and white, rock, formation, pool, evening, squall, storm, cell, rain, cloud, downpour, shower, pool, tide, wave, surf, shore, coast, beach, strata, reflection, sun, light, pattern, moss, pacific, ocean, coast, sea, wet, santa cruz, davenport, highway, one, scenic, weather, landscape, seascape, travel, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Merced River Fall Color, El Capitan Bridge

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Merced River Fall Color, El Capitan Bridge

Merced River Fall Color, El Capitan Bridge. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color along the banks of the Merced River at the El Capitan Bridge, Yosemite Valley.

This is a second photograph that I made of this scene last weekend. (I posted the other one here a few days ago.) The first major winter storm of the season was just coming in, and it had already rained enough to cause the Merced River to begin to rise – which explains the debris floating on the surface in this photo.

I decided to work this scene with prime lenses rather than my zooms, so I made the previous photograph using the somewhat wider view of my 35mm lens and made this one using a 50mm prime. Frankly, I’m still going back and forth on which I like best. I like the way that this tighter crop fills the frame with the fall colors, but I like the composition of the wider view, too.

keywords: fall, autumn, color, foliage, leaves, gold, yellow, green, tree, oak, leaves, plants, nature, water, merced, river, bend, el capitan, meadow, bridge, mountain, cliff, face, reflection, yosemite, valley, national park, seaon, fog, cloud, california, usa, log, landscape, scenic, travel, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Color, Merced River

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Autumn Color, Merced River

Autumn Color, Merced River. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn trees along the Merced River near El Capitan Meadow Bridge – Yosemite Valley, California.

This photograph was made on the first day of a very rainy fall weekend in Yosemite Valley. I go to the Valley every fall at about this time to photograph the fall colors of oaks, maples, and meadows, but this year was different than some of my previous visits. First, it rained. A lot. It more or less rained the entire time I was there, though I’ll admit that there were a few brief intervals when it only sprinkled and even briefer moments when the rain actually stopped. Although this makes photography more difficult, it also creates many compelling photographic opportunities that just don’t appear on more pleasant (and boring) days. There was mist everywhere; among the trees on the Valley floor, and wrapping the cliffs and summits around the Valley. The fall colors became even more intense. And, most unusual, after a very dry season that left many of the waterfalls, creeks, and rivers low or completely dry, they suddenly came back to life. In this photograph the Merced River has already risen and picked up leaves and other material. (I came back to this spot the next day and the plants along the right river bank were underwater!)

(There is another version of this photograph with a tighter composition – I’m still thinking about which I prefer.)

keywords: yosemite, valley, national park, el capitan, meadow, merced, river, oak, tree, forest, grove, reflection, fog, cliff, mountain, yellow, gold, green, log, water, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, california, usa, stock, bank, shore