Tag Archives: scenic

Two Bridges, Morning Fog – San Francisco Bay

Two Bridges, Morning Fog - San Francisco Bay
Two Bridges, Morning Fog – San Francisco Bay. San Francisco, California. September 18, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Photographed from above the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge on an end-of-summer morning as the sun broke through the bay fog.

keywords: golden gate, san francisco, bay, bridge, alcatraz, treasure, island, fog, light, reflection, boat, sunlight, beams, ship, barge, stock, travel, scenic, travel, city, california, usa, morning

Lower Young Lake Shoreline, Dusk

Lower Young Lake Shoreline, Dusk
Lower Young Lake Shoreline, Dusk. Yosemite National Park, California. September 10, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

I spent several days in the Young Lakes area of the Yosemite Sierra Nevada back-country on a solo pack trip late last year. Although Young Lakes are very popular during the summer season and can be reached by a one-day roundtrip hike, this I was alone at the lake on a quiet evening following an afternoon of rainy weather.

keywords: black and white, shoreline, lower, young, lake, fall, autumn, evening, dusk, clouds, misty, beach, rocks, reflections, water, surface, trees, forest, silhouette, mountains, peaks, alpine, ridge, camping, hiking, backpacking, travel, scenic, landscape, stock, grass

Cliffs, Surf, and Fog – California Coastline


Cliffs, Surf, and Fog – California Coastline. South of San Francisco, California. January 12, 2008. © Copyright 2008 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fog and winter light on cliffs and Pacific coast surf in winter. South of San Francisco, California

I have always been fascinated by light shining directly through the atmosphere, coming straight on towards me – the brighter and more luminous the glow the better. You frequently find me aiming my camera almost straight toward the sun. (I’ve become a master at shading lenses with hands, hat, pieces of paper, you name it.) I also love atmospheric recession, the illumination of distance by the haze, as more distant subjects lose contrast and detail. This scene had all of those things, and perhaps even more.

I had been driving the coast highway (highway 1) between Santa Cruz and San Francisco on this winter day, and in places it was very foggy – but here it was the kind of fog that, while dense near the ground, is shallow enough that the light from the sun shines though and can even make looking at the clouds almost unbearable. I pulled over at a place where it looked like I might be able to walk out onto a shoreline bluff high above the water and see over the edge to the water and cliffs below and beyond. A saw this line-up of receding cliffs dropping to the surf and decided to shoot along them towards the sun. (I was surprised to find later that hidden in the fog is a small creek dropping from one section of the cliff in a small water fall.)

From the original post: “This high key image is a bit different from what I usually do. The fog was backlit by some fairly bright sunlight and, although it is nearly impossible to see in this little jpg image, there is a lot of detail in the frothy white surface of the water on the right side.”

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Transamerica Pyramid at Night

Transamerica Pyramid at Night

Transamerica Pyramid at Night. San Francisco, California. December 21, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Just before Christmas I had the chance to loop out to Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay (on the return drive from winter solstice at Muir Woods) and photograph the night skyline of San Francisco.

The parking lot near the entrance to the old Treasure Island base is always a great spot from which to photograph the waterfront and skyline of San Francisco – but it is especially good during the holiday season when many downtown buildings are lit up by holiday lights.

keywords: transamerica, pyramid, building, tower, san francisco, california, usa, night, photography, urban, downtown, skyline, city, lights, travel, bay, lights, reflections, treasure island, yerba buena, island, stock, scenic