Tag Archives: shore

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

Windswept Trees, Coastal Bluffs

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Windswept Trees, Coastal Bluffs
Rugged trees cling to rocky bluffs above the Pacific Coast shoreline, Point Lobos.

Windswept Trees, Coastal Bluffs. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Rugged trees clinging to rocky bluffs above the Pacific Coast shoreline, Point Lobos.

This scene gets a different treatment than other recent Point Lobos photographs, something more in line with the tradition of black and white photography at this location. The foreground tree and its nearby associates are influenced by the strong winds at this exposed location. Branches and whole trees are bent away from the open sea, and their angles are mirrored by the slope of the headland on the other side of the foggy inlet.

In a recent post I mentioned that some attractive Point Lobos subjects are often nearly impossible to photograph because dense trees stand between legal (and safe!) camera positions and the open views. While sometimes I can find a way to photograph under, around, or through these barriers, that isn’t always. possible. I initially went to this spot looking for an open view of the inlet, but when I couldn’t find it I decided to make the trees and boulders the main foreground element.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Monterey Cypress Snag

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Monterey Cypress Snag
The skeleton of a Monterey cypress snag above a cove and peninsula on a foggy Point Lobos morning.

Monterey Cypress Snag. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The skeleton of a Monterey cypress snag above a cove and peninsula on a foggy Point Lobos morning.

This weathered Monterey cypress snag is evidence of the rugged lives of these trees. At Point Lobos many are found along the rocky, rugged, and exposed north shore, where they grow on rocky headlands and at the edge of cliffs. The growth of thriving trees can seem almost lush, but if you look around you’ll inevitably find a lot of struggling trees and dead snags like this one.

Making this photograph was an almost comical affair. A challenge of photographing here is that there is rarely a clear, unobstructed view of interesting subjects. In some cases you could get such a view by (illegally) venturing off the trail, but in addition to being bad manners that is often very risky. To find compositions I often have to be creative, perhaps thinking about how to work the obstructions into the composition, or by shooting around and between them with long lenses. To make this photograph I had to set up in the middle of a narrow section of the trail, use a very wide angle lens, and put the camera in the one precise position that worked… and I had to move the whole setup several times to let people pass as I worked.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Cliffside Trees, Fog

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Cliffside Trees, Fog
Monterey cypress trees line the rocky edges of the north shore of Point Lobos on a foggy morning.

Cliffside Trees, Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Monterey cypress trees line the rocky edges of the north shore of Point Lobos on a foggy morning.

This is another in this week’s series of photographs from a recent foggy morning at Point Lobos State Reserve, a favorite location where I have photographed for decades. I live a bit more than an hour away, so I can watch the weather and head over there almost at the spur of the moment when conditions look good. And the conditions on this morning were excellent, with the fog being both persistent and often translucent.

Tall cliffs tower above rugged peninsulas, rocky promontories, and coves along the north shore. This is one of the best locations to see Monterey cypress trees that have been challenged and bent by the rocky terrain and the wind. Many of the trees in this photograph grow at the edge of the land and subsist on little more than the thin soil collected in cracks in the rock.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees in Morning Sun

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Trees in Morning Sun
Silhouetted trees in brilliant morning sunlight along the shore of a Yosemite Wilderness lake.

Trees in Morning Sun. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Silhouetted trees in brilliant morning sunlight along the shore of a Yosemite Wilderness lake.

This is another photograph from the Sierra Nevada that seems place-specific only in the most general sense. You can find similar scenes of trees and boulders along the edge of countless lakes and ponds in the range. If you explore them in the early morning or late in the day you are bound to end up looking into this brilliant light and perhaps shielding your eyes in the shadows of one of the trees.

This particular scene is in the Yosemite backcountry at just such a lake — a moderate-sized body of water nestled among trees interspersed with the ubiquitous granite boulders left behind by glacial action. It can produce a complex and detailed scene, but one with a definite sense of order once you see it. Beyond the physical reality of such places, I always thing of the sensations that accompany a walk through this terrain — the careful steps over and around boulders, climbing over the fallen snags, the contrast between cool air and intense sunlight, and perhaps the sound of water along the shore.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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