Tag Archives: season

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

Ocean Beach, Winter Surf

February 19, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of winter surf along Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California.

On a day like this one it was hard to resist shooting from an obvious spot like this – right by the Cliff House, looking south along the incoming winter surf at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. With the strong backlight coming through the ocean spray and overcast and fog, the light was very diffused, and it made it possible to shoot directly into the otherwise impossibly bright direct reflections of the sun on the surf. A lot of what is in this photograph is subtle, and you might miss it in this small on-screen image – but look for the very faint outline of the distant hills of the San Francisco Peninsula and the subtle differences in tonality in the cloudy sky.

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: san francisco, california, usa, sutro, baths, cliff, ocean, sea, coast, shore, pacific, surf, travel, scenic, beach, waves, foam, seascape, landscape, people, beach, sand, mountain, hill, great, highway, sky, clouds, mist, spray, haze, silhouette, atmosphere, recession, winter, season, stock, black and white

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

Incoming Winter Storm, Point Lobos

February 1, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of the leading edge of a winter storm passing over the Pacific coastline at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

On this morning I thought the weather was going to be too rainy and cloudy to shoot – and I slept it. When I got up and saw that maybe it wasn’t going to be quite that bad I made a quick decision to head south and out toward the coast, and ended up at Point Lobos. The huge storm surf was beating against the coast and the leading edge of the incoming cold front was just passing over the coastline, putting some impressive clouds about the coast and the spray/mist from the big waves, and letting me shoot almost straight toward the sun.

Not all of my black and white photographs start out that way. In truth, while I sometimes have a pretty good idea that a particular shot is heading in the monochrome direction when I make the exposure, with other images I don’t “discover” this until I begin my work in post. With this one I had a pretty clear idea that the clouds and that receding layers for rock and bluff would work in black and white.

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: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, pacific, ocean, sea, coast, shore, carmel, highlands, big, sur, rocks, islands, sea stacks, surf, wave, rough, reflection, sun, light, winter, season, storm, front, edge, leading, cloud, sky, seascape, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, hills, cliff, bluff, bird, gull, cypress, trees, forest, weather, stock

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

Bird Island from Weston Beach

January 30, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Photograph from Weston Beach of wild winter seas near Bird Island and surrounding rocks along the California coastline at Point Lobos State Reserve as high clouds from an approaching winter storm begin to spread across the sky.

Since I decided to make this short mid-January visit to Point Lobos on the spur of the moment (after discovering that predicted rain was going to arrive later than expected) I had no idea what the tide conditions would be like. It turned out that the tide was in when I arrived and familiar locations like Weston Beach, the location from which I made this photograph, were fairly inundated by the tide and the high surf from the approaching weather front. So rather than trying to shoot the smaller details of the beach/cove – I saved that for later in the day – I decided to see what I could do with the longer views of the huge surf and the backlit haze and light fog that emphasized the rocks and bluffs receding into the distance. The light was very changeable, and the sky in this image explain why – for the most part there was a thin layer of high clouds, but there were also scattered thicker clouds that cast moving shadows across the water.

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: weston, beach, cove, bird, island, rock, sea, stack, ocean, shore, cliff, big, sur, point, lobos, state, reserve, park, winter, california, usa, carmel, monterey, peninsula, pacific, season, sky, clouds, spray, wave, surf, chop, wild, bluff, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, seascape, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Winter Fog and Oak Covered Hills

January 21, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter morning fog settles over the oak covered Calero Hills landscape of central California.

On this early-January winter morning I headed to my “photographic backyard” in the Calero Hills area, knowing that I’d get to shoot my favorite hills, oak trees, and grasslands in fog, clearing fog, and perhaps even sunlight. Things didn’t pan out exactly as I expected, but it was a good morning of photography anyway.

After starting out by photographing a tree in the “lowlands” of the park, I could tell that the tule fog was starting to clear a bit along the ridges – the brighter light from above was one hint, and the occasional faint sight of blue sky and clouds through the low fog was another. So I decided to finish up my work on that tree and follow a trail that ascends to one of the many minor ridges running through the park.

Arriving at a familiar point on the ridge along a valley that drops away to the south, the fog began to clear from my location. I soon discovered that it wasn’t going to be a day for sunlit photographs – a weak weather system was approaching and high clouds muted the sunlight. In addition the fog didn’t exactly clear – it was more a case of the fog sort of washing back and forth. One moment my position and nearby ridges would clear and I’d see the overcast sky above (as in this photograph), but a few minutes later another wave of fog would expand out of the valleys and I’d be socked in again. So I set up and waited and watched and ended up with several photographs that I like.

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: calero, county, park, santa clara, california, usa, hills, oak, tree, grove, grass, brown, golden, valley, fog, mist, clouds, silhouette, nature, ridge, mountain, sky, winter, season, central, grassland, emerge, clear, settle, landscape, soft, light, rock, plant, stock

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