Tag Archives: sea

Pacific Ocean, Evening Sky

Pacific Ocean, Evening Sky

Pacific Ocean, Evening Sky. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific Ocean evening surf and sky at Panther Beach, north of Santa Cruz, California.

I’ve been working on a series of “minimalist seascape” photographs for a couple years now, and this is the latest in the series. This was shot quite a bit after sunset and the only light left was the soft, diffused light from the sky.

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: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, surf, sea, seascape, landscape, sky, pink, blue, reflection, pattern, color, bird, gull, usa, winter, rocks, stock

Boulders, Beach, Twilight

Boulders, Panther Beach, Twilight

Boulders, Beach, Twilight. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Large surf-worn boulders near the waterline in the twilight – south of Santa Cruz, California.

Just after the sun dropped below the horizon, I passed through a “natural bridge” between the two sections of the beach and came out on the south side by these two large boulders set in the sand. I used a 35mm prime and positioned the camera quite close to the boulder on the left to get this shot, pausing long enough to let people in brightly colored clothes walk through the scene before making my long exposure. (In one frame there is a very interesting smear or color passing behind the rock! :-)

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: boulder, rock, sand, footprints, sunset, evening, twilight, panther, beach, state, park, california, usa, coast, highway, one, 1, santa cruz, cliff, bluff, surf, wave, pacific, ocean, sea, shore, seascape, landscape, sky, cloud, nature, stock

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon

Panther Beach, Late Afternoon

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon. Near Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Warm late afternoon winter sun shines on the sand, rocks and surf at a beach Santa Cruz, California.

Looking more or less south towards Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, and in the distance the Monterey Peninsula, this photograph was made from atop a slender finger of coastal bluff that almost splits this beach in half. In fact, getting between the north and south sections would involve some serious wading if it were not for the large “natural bridge” that cuts through the rock more or less directly below where I stood to make this photograph. Except for correctly a slight camera tilt, little post-processing was applied to this photograph – the intense colors come from the very late hour just shortly before sunset.

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: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, monterey, bay, surf, foam, cliff, bluff, sand, rock, boulder, coast, shoreline, shore, sea, seascape, landscape, travel, scenic, people, nature, walk, afternoon, late, light, stock

Sea Stack and Cove, Wilder Ranch State Beach

Sea Stack and Cove, Wilder Ranch State Beach

Sea Stack and Cove, Wilder Ranch State Beach. Santa Cruz, California. December 29, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Twilight view of a surf filled cove, shoreline ledges, sea stack, beach, and Monterey Peninsula at Wilder Ranch State Beach.

Although I have visited the section of the California Coast Highway between San Francisco and Santa Cruz many times and have driven past this spot frequently, I had never actually stopped at Wilder Ranch State Beach and wandered out the the ocean here. Having seen some interesting photographs of this spot recently, tonight as I drove north from Santa Cruz I decided that there was no time like the present and I pulled over and hiked down to the beach. Compared to many winter evenings along this section of the Pacific coast, it was very calm and almost warm tonight.

This photograph looks south toward Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay – the Monterey Peninsula is visible on the horizon. The sea stack is probably the most recognizable feature of this beach, though the low rock shelfs along the water’s edge are also pretty interesting. This photograph is a fairly long time exposure shot in the post sunset glow.

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: sea, stack, cove, rock, ledge, reef, bluff, surf, wave, ocean, pacific, monterey, bay, peninsula, santa cruz, california, usa, sunset, twilight, evening, light, moss, reflection, time exposure, beach, sand, pond, pool, sky, cloud, landscape, seascape, travel, scenic, stock, mist, island, birds