Tag Archives: rocky

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

Headlands Near Davenport

May 25, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Foggy sky along the coastal headlands near Davenport, California.

I stopped along the edge of the bluff at a spot on the California Coast Highway (highway 1) where I know that I can photograph seabirds as they cruise just feet away from the top of the cliff. Although my attention was first on the birds, I was also aware of the expansive views of the coastline from this high spot on the road, and I thought that the glowing fog-filled sky to the southwest might be worth photographing. I decided to place the horizon very low in the frame and expose so that the thin line of coastal bluffs extending into the frame from the left would be much darker than the water or the sky.

While I had a pretty good idea that this would end up as a black and white photograph – the colors in the foggy and gray conditions were not that special – I wasn’t certain when I made the exposure of just what I would do with it in post. As soon as I opened the file though I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do. In the end, for an image that might seem so simple, this photograph required quite a bit of post-processing work.

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 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/120 second

keywords: davenport, california, usa, north america, headlands, bluff, coast, shore, surf, wave, horizon, fog, clouds, cliff, rocky, ocean, sea, shoreline, highway, one, black and white, monochrome, landscape, seascape, travel, scenic, nature, beach, shoal, minimal, sky, stock

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

Rocky Creek Bridge, Big Sur

May 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A natural bridge in front of manmade Rocky Creek Bridge along the Big Sur Coastline, California.

This scene is becoming a sort of personal icon in my photography of the California coastline. I have made a couple black and white photographs of the location that are among my very favorite photographs, but I’ve been meaning to work on a color photograph of this spot. There are at least three general conditions in which this spot gets what I regard as interesting light: fairly early morning when the light slants down toward the ocean from over the coastal Big Sur hills, late afternoon in warm light, and during various types of cloud and fog conditions. This version is from the first of these – photographed relatively early in the day when portions of the scene are backlit but some light hits parts of the scene directly after the sun rises above the tall mountains to the east.

Believe it or not, I still don’t think I’ve fully worked this scene – and I have several other ideas of how I would like to shoot it when the conditions are just right.

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 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 360mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/250 second

keywords: natural, manmade, bridge, rocky, creek, pacific, ocean, sea, shore, shoreline, coast, highway, 1, one, rock, island, surf, wave, arch, beach, spring, morning, light, bird, gull, cliff, hill, steep, ridge, monterey, carmel, landscape, seascape, nature, scenic, travel, road, drive, stock

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

Big Sur Coastline at the Rocky Creek Bridge

January 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

Black and white photograph of winter surf and rugged cliffs and rocks along California’s Big Sur coastline at the Rocky Creek Bridge.

I have photographed this scene before, so it was on my list of places to check out as I drove down the Big Sur coast on the second day of the new year. When I arrived I found very different lighting from that in the linked photograph – that one was shot in the morning with back-light and heavier mist. On this afternoon the surf was big (but not huge) and some mist was being thrown up by the waves, but the late afternoon light more clearly illuminated the rocks and the bridge. I also found a slightly better spot for seeing the natural arch in the foreground rocks. The only difficulty was that a herd of cattle was grazing on the top of the bluff right in front of this scene, and I had to wait for them to move before I could shoot – they were obstructing the arch!

I first thought this would be a color photograph, but the more I worked on it the more I liked the monochrome rendition. To me it seems to take the focus away from the colors and force it more towards the abstract and overlapping forms of the rocks, surf, bridge, and hill beyond.

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.

keywords: big, sur, coast, coastline, winter, season, seascape, pacific, ocean, california, usa, sea, water, surf, wave, stock, rocky, creek, bridge, rugged, rock, bluff, cliff, cave, tunnel, arch, natural, road, highway, one, haze, mist, spray, fog, afternoon, light, crashing, landscape, nature, hill, mountain, black and white, monochrome

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

Subalpine Meadow, Evening – Evelyn Lake

December 7, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Late summer evening light in a subalpine meadow near Evelyn Lake in the Yosemite National Park back-country.

I’m pretty certain that my favorite time of year in the Sierra starts right about when this photograph was made – early September right after the Labor Day Holiday. I’m also certain that my favorite terrain – I call in “my Sierra” – is this sort of open timberline country with a mixture of subalpine meadow, stunted forest, and open views of surrounding higher terrain.

On this day I had come up to Evelyn Lake – located very near the Vogelsang High Sierra camp – from Lyell Canyon. After a late arrival at my Lyell Canyon camp the night before and the rather stiff morning climb up the Ireland Lake trail, I arrived here feeling pretty tired. I pretty much set up my bivy sack camp and took a big nap! Later in the day as evening approached I came back to life and decided to make a few photographs. This photograph of the meadow and a bit of a meandering stream in the meadow was made within a few yards of my campsite on the shoreline of the lake.

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.

keywords: stream, creek, meander, meadow, grass, plant, foliage, flora, rock, boulder, tree, forest, sub, alpine, tundra, ridge, rocky, sky, blue, cloud, cloud, pastel, sunset, evening, dusk, light, evelyn, lake, back, country, backpack, trail, hike, camp, nature, landscape, travel, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, stock

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