Tag Archives: rugged

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Snow Field, Reflection

Image November 7, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A late-season snow field at the base of rugged cliffs, reflected in the surface of a High Sierra lake

I can say a few things concerning both the objective facts about this scene and about my subjective reaction to it. The facts: We walked to this lake frequently during our September photographic sojourn in the Eastern Sierra backcountry. It wasn’t far from our base camp at another nearby lake, and if we walked directly there it might take all of 10-15 minutes — though, as photographers, our walks are hardly ever direct, more often devolving into stop-and-go affairs as we are distracted by various subjects. The snow bank and the steep wall above the lake were most often in shadow, and by evening the light could become quite dim.

There are many ways I could (and perhaps did) photograph this subject, but here I wanted to focus on the contrast between the form of the bright snow field and the much darker surroundings of cliffs, talus, and shadowed lake. Late in the day a long shadow began along the talus field and gradually advanced across the lake, darkening the water and the surrounding forest and rocks. After sunset, my impression of the place was of stillness and oncoming darkness, and I wanted this version of the photograph to suggest these things.

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

Beneath The Fog

Image August 28, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pacific Ocean bluffs beneath summer fog, Big Sur coast

We often photograph this coast when it is sunny, and even then we tend to photograph at the colorful early morning and evening hours. The light at those times and in those conditions is, indeed, amazing, and who could blame photographers for seeking it out? In addition, along the Big Sur coast the clearer skies often produce great vistas that stretch over immense distances.

I often wonder how people who are familiar with this area from photographs and guide books — with their sunny photographs — must respond when they discover that fog is very common, especially during the prime summer tourist months. In fact, much of the California coast is like this — it can be (and was on the day I made this photograph) ninety degrees or hotter a few miles inland and cold, windy, and foggy along the immediate coast. I made this photograph right at one of the best known and most iconic locations along the Big Sur coast, but in these more typical foggy conditions.

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

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

Rocky Beach, Big Sur Coastline

Image August 20, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A rocky beach near Willow Creek, rugged Big Sur coastline

The color of the ocean varies immensely along this California Big Sur coastline. The causes are varied. The water reflects the light, and that light can be dark and dramatic, soft and misty, or bright to the point of brilliance. The surface of the water, affected by wind and weather, has an effect — the water can be rough and textured or nearly glass smooth. The depth of the water and what lies beneath change the color — rocks, sand, kelp beds.

I’m fascinated by these locations, often in small bays, where the water is much lighter, a color that reminds me of lakes below glaciers. My theory is that in these locations the water is not very deep, and that the bottom must be sandy. In some spots I think that runoff or the action of waves on the shoreline may add sediment to the water. The little bay in this photograph is a spot where I often pause along this coast. But this time, as I returned from the southern endpoint of this day’s drive, I stopped before I arrived there and photographed it from a distance.

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

Big Sur Coast Headlands

Image August 16, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Thinning fog over the Big Sur coast beyond rugged headlands

This was a particularly “quiet” section of the coast on the day I visited. Elsewhere the wind was blowing, sometimes pushing fog across the roadway, and often making photography a bit of a challenge. But here there was shelter from the wind, and the ocean was relatively calm. A fog bank lay across the water in the distance, though it was nearly gone as the day warmed up.

There are impressive headlands all along this section of the Pacific Coast Highway through the Big Sur coast, but this area just south of the town of Big Sur has some of the tallest and steepest sections. I often take this landscape for granted, as I have lived nearby for almost my entire life — and then, every so often, it hits me that it must be one of the most monumental meetings of land and sea on the planet, both for the rugged landscape itself and for the distance across which it stretches.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: rugged

Snow Field, Reflection

Beneath The Fog

Rocky Beach, Big Sur Coastline

Big Sur Coast Headlands

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.