Morning light glances across the surface of Tenaya Lake, sprinkled with pollen, and illuminated shoreline trees and boulder, Yosemite National Park, California.
Shortly after the sun cleared the surrounding peaks, the morning light slants across the pollen-covered surface of Tenaya Lake to illuminate two small trees and their larger neighbors, along with a small peninsula and some shoreline boulders. This is an area in which I have photographed in the past, but this time I arrived much earlier in the day and the water level was still considerably higher than later in the season due to the heavy snow melt run-off that had peaked only a week or two earlier.
A climber stands atop “The Grandstand” formation in the middle of the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California.
I got a short period of good light when I visited the Racetrack Playa in late March… followed by an evening, a night, and a morning of mediocre light. Win some – lose some! When I first arrived at the playa it was still relatively clear, with only the thin high clouds seen in this photograph. My first stop was at “The Grandstand,” this interesting rocky hill in the middle of the otherwise perfectly flat playa. As I wandered around looking for good angles from which to photograph the formation, a succession of visitors climbed to the highest point of the formation. I had never thought to do this, even though I had climbed over part of the Grandstand to get to the other side on a previous visit. After waiting some time for the climbers to get out of “my shot,” I finally figured out that the lone figure atop this large rock made an interesting 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.
Black and white photograph of Pacific Ocean fog and winter surf beating against shoreline below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.
There is an overlook just north of the ruins of the Sutro Baths that provides a clear view of the historic (and iconic) Cliff House Restaurant atop the cliffs near Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California. On a day like this one, the surf from winter Pacific Ocean storms pounds the base of the cliffs. At the lower left a bit of the old ruins of the Sutro Baths can be seen – it is hard to imagine how anyone constructed the walls and platforms and then the buildings of this facility.
Black and white photographs of visitors to the ruins of the Sutro Baths below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.
I have known of the Sutro Baths ruins for a long time – since I was a child, really – and I’ve seen them before from the top of the bluff near the iconic Cliff House Restaurant at the north end of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. But this was my first visit to the actual site. The story is that this is the site of what was once a large privately-operated pool and bath complex that sat right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Decades ago it was being demolished (or so I understand) when there was a fire that destroyed the buildings and left only the foundations and what appear to be the outlines of old pools. To me the site feels like visiting some very ancient ruins.
On the day we visited the surf was fairly large. While I’m sure it gets even larger in the middle of a bit Pacific winter storm, it was impressive nonetheless, especially since the site of the baths is right on the edge of the ocean. The light was wonderful. Even though it was essentially midday when we visited, the light was softened and diffused by a combination of clouds and the thick mist created by the spray from the waves. Although I had a tripod with me, I had left it in the car – so this is a hand held photograph. I think that actually turned out to my benefit, since without the tripod I could shoot more spontaneously. I had been watching and thinking about this particular spot and a composition that included the lines and shadows and angles of these walls with the Cliff House beyond. But all of a sudden I saw the people in the scene move into positions that I thought were interesting and I had to react quickly.
I’m not sure how well this photograph will work for most viewers, but at the moment it is one of my favorite recent images. Especially in the 13″ x 19″ test print I made this evening, there is – to me at least – a ton of interesting stuff going on in the scene. (Unfortunately, some of that detail may well be lost in this small jpg version.)
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.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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