Tag Archives: rest

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Detail, Last Light on El Capitan

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Detail, Last Light on El Capitan

Detail, Last Light on El Capitan. Yosemite National Park, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail view of last sunset light on the face of El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California.

Shot from a very famous and popular location, this is a long lens view of the face of El Capitan close to sunset when the light is almsot but not quite directly from behind my position, and when the shadows of the lower mountains to the west begin to rise up the face of the mountain. There is a color version of this photograph also, but the effect is very different. And this one reminds me in a vague way of a certain famous photograph of another Yosemite landmark.

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.

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keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, autumn, fall, season, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, california, el capitan, cliff, face, shadow, prow, edge, crack, texture, form, ledge, sunset, evening, dusk, sky, clouds, rest, granite, rock, climb, rock, ridge, evening, stock, black and white, monochrome

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

Elephant Seal

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Elephant Seal

Elephant Seal. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An elephant seal on a sunny afternoon on the beach at the Piedras Blanca Elephant Seal rookery along the Central California coast.

Early in the extended Fourth of July weekend we travelled down the Big Sur coastline (sorry, only a few photos of that) and stopped at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery on the shoreline in the general vicinity of Hearst Castle. The rookery is quite amazing. Literally within yards of the highway a large group of elephant seals come ashore to do their “elephant seal thing,” and you can view them from a short distance away. (They come ashore in many other places in California but few are this accessible and many are almost completely inaccessible.) During our brief stop I had a great opportunity to put the long lens to use. This seal was, like many of the others, seemingly enjoying a nap on the warm sand in the afternoon sun.

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: elephant, seal, rookery, beach, shore, piedras, blancas, california, usa, wildlife, sea, mammals, sand, sunny, warm, rest, eyes, whiskers, snout, brown, nose, beach, pacific, coast, shore, ocean, southern, nature, stock

Equipment, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Wildlife

Harbor Seal Family

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Harbor Seal Family

Harbor Seal Family. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A family trio of harbor seals rests on an offshore rock at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I photographed this family group (at least they sure acted like a family!) on an offshore rock just above the surf line on the late April weekend when I almost had the whole of Point Lobos State Reserve to myself. (I wrote about this earlier – a marathon had closed the coast highway and almost no one else was in the park.) I think the seals were a bit less wary than they might be because of the very small number of people in the park – actually, I was the only person near them for a good long time. I had a great chance to observe them uninterrupted, and from two slightly different locations – after shooting from this spot I moved far to the right where I could shoot back at the far side of the rock.

I found it interesting that they were very aware of my presence and seemed to pay more obvious attention to me than I have seen in the past. The lighter color seal on the right stared right at me for long periods of time on several occasions, even though I was quite a distance away and standing nearly motionless. Once or twice all three gazed my direction. I wasn’t sure who was observing who! The darker seal on the left seemed to be the least active, only occasionally rolling around and scratching the back (yes, they do this!) of the others, especially the smaller one in the far middle in this shot.

I’m still working out the best ways to photograph creatures like these. Learning their habits a bit helps, as does arriving at the right time – in terms of season, time of day, weather, and the good fortune of being there on an uncrowded day at Point Lobos. I’d like to get shots from a lower angle, but this can be difficult. I think the seals are much less likely to be close to the shore in such places.

I have a very large number of photographs of this group, and I may post more eventually.

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: harbor, seal, young, parents, family, eyes, three, rock, shore, water, seaweed, kelp, flipper, white, gray, brown, ocean, sea, coast, wildlife, nature, whiskers, spring, rest, lie, group, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, monterey, peninsula, carmel, stock

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

Black and White Seals

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Black and White Seals

Black and White Seals. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. December 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white seals resting on rocks near the shoreline at Point Lobos State Reserve.

These “guys” were resting on a rock very close to the shoreline near the Bird Rock trailhead. I had never seen a white seal before so I spent some considerable time photographing them – the combination of the lighter and darker seals was especially interesting, and the white one apparently was almost as interested in me as I was in them. It frequently gazed up to my position on the cliff.

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.

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