Tag Archives: seashore

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cliffs, Sand, and Surf

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Cliffs, Sand, and Surf - Panther Beach

Cliffs, Sand, and Surf. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late sun illuminates sand, cliffs, and surf near Santa Cruz, California.

I suppose I must count myself lucky for living in a place where I get head to out in the late afternoon for the coast, wander around on the beach shooting photographs of scenes like this as the sun drops toward the horizon… and be home in time for dinner. :-)

Another in what will be a series of perhaps a half dozen photographs from this spot  north of Santa Cruz, California, where I photographed this past weekend. In this photograph the sun is dropping beyond the horizon and the very last light is hitting the beach in the center foreground.

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, travel, scenic, coast, shore, landscape, surf, cliff, bluff, sky, pink, blue, cloud, rocks, reflection, foam, foot steps, stock, panther

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Bird Island, Bay, and Coastal Cliffs – Last Light

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Bird Island, Bay, and Coastal Cliffs - Last Light

Bird Island, Bay, and Coastal Cliffs – Last Light. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. December 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bird Island, coastal cliffs, and Pacific Ocean on the last evening of fall, 2008 – Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

This is a photograph was made just as the sun began to dip below the horizon over the Pacific Ocean on this final evening of fall 2008. A moment later the light on the cliff at center right was gone.

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: big sur, california, carmel, Fall, monterey, nature, ocean, pacific ocean, point lobos, seashore, bird, island, surf, wave, evening, sunset, twilight, sky, rock, bay, water, light, time exposure, scenic, travel, landscape, seascape

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

Black and White Seals

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Black and White Seals

Black and White Seals. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. December 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white seals resting on rocks near the shoreline at Point Lobos State Reserve.

These “guys” were resting on a rock very close to the shoreline near the Bird Rock trailhead. I had never seen a white seal before so I spent some considerable time photographing them – the combination of the lighter and darker seals was especially interesting, and the white one apparently was almost as interested in me as I was in them. It frequently gazed up to my position on the cliff.

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: big sur, california, carmel, Fall, monterey, nature, ocean, pacific ocean, point lobos, seashore, seal, black, white, flipper, fin, face, marine, mammal, rest, rock, ocean, sea, pacific, coast, kelp, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, carmel, monterey, peninsula, big sur, nature, wildlife, stock, whiskers, pair

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pacific Ocean, Sunset

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Pacific Ocean, Sunset

Pacific Ocean Waves, Sunset. Pacific Ocean Coastline, Northern California. September 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of wave patterns and reflections as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean south of San Francisco, California.

I drove over to the coast on an early September evening with my son to photograph pelicans and other shore birds along coastal bluffs between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. I know of a few spots on high bluffs where you can simply pull to the side of the road, take 10 steps to the west to the edge of the bluff, and then wait for birds gliding along the cliffs and taking advantage of the updrafts to stay aloft. Sometimes the birds will come past within a few feet of your position. I had been concentrating of photographing the birds, but during the breaks between flocks and individuals it was impossible to ignore the increasingly beautiful light as the sun dropped toward the horizon, casting nearly horizontal shadows of fog-diffused light. Essentially on a whim, I pointed my 100-400mm zoom (not exactly a typical landscape/seascape lens) down at the small waves at the base of the cliff and made a few exposures just as the sun began to drop below the horizon.

keywords: color, wave, swell, reflections, pacific, ocean, coast, highway, 1, one, california, usa, pattern, sun, set, sunset, evening, san francisco, coastline, shore, sea, seashore, seascape, landscape, stock