Tag Archives: shower

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain

Coastal Rocks, Surf, and Rain. Near Davenport, California. December 15, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Coastal rock formations glisten in the rain as an evening squall approaches the Pacific Coast north of Davenport, California. (Black and white version)

Late on a rainy afternoon earlier this week it seemed like the sky might clear enough to make for some spectacular evening shooting along the California coast near Davenport. I headed over the hill to Santa Cruz and started north up the Coast Highway in post-storm clear air with a few puffy clouds offshore. However, as I passed through Davenport I could see a squall line to the northwest, just beginning to move between me and the bright sky to the west. Being either brave or foolish I kept heading north until near Greyhound Rock where the cold rain started. I headed back south, almost to Davenport, before pulling over along a beach where the road descends to near sea level. Although it wasn’t raining here yet, the clouds were clearly heading this way. I grabbed my camera pack and tripod and put on some extra clothes and headed across the beach to the waters edge before turning north toward some low rocks at the end of the beach. Soon it started raining, but at this point I wasn’t about to go home empty-handed so I continued up onto the rocks and managed to make a few exposures in the rain as the squall line approached, the wind picked up, and the rain increased.

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: black and white, rock, formation, pool, evening, squall, storm, cell, rain, cloud, downpour, shower, pool, tide, wave, surf, shore, coast, beach, strata, reflection, sun, light, pattern, moss, pacific, ocean, coast, sea, wet, santa cruz, davenport, highway, one, scenic, weather, landscape, seascape, travel, stock

North Lake, Autumn

North Lake, Autumn

North Lake, Autumn. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn at North Lake with aspen trees turning yellow and orange and new snow dusting Piute Peak.

Photographed right after the passage of an early season weather front that had dusted Piute Peak with a bit of snow – in fact, it is still snowing up there in this photograph. This photo was made at the lower end of the lake it what is one of the classic photograph spots at North Lake, or so it seems. The next morning I came back to this lake to photograph a nearby aspen grove and I passed by here thinking I might stop and photograph the lake again. That is, I thought so until I passed the spot and saw photographers lining the shoreline here tripod to tripod – I’ve never seen so many photographers trying to find their own personal vision from exactly the same spot at the same time before… ;-) Needless to say, I settled for the photos of the lake I had made the day before, when high winds and intermittent snow seemed to reduce the number of photographers to a more reasonable level.

keywords: autumn, fall, season, north, lake, piute, peak, mountain, ridge, sierra, nevada, range, california, water, reflection, grass, meadow, meadow, forest, grove, aspen, yellow, orange, gold, sky, cloud, snow, dusting, california, usa, scenic, travel, landscape, stock

North Lake and Piute Peak, Autumn Snow

North Lake and Piute Peak, Autumn Snow

North Lake and Piute Peak, Autumn Snow. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An autumn snow squall moves across the upper reaches of Piute Peak with fall colors around North Lake in the foreground. The snow is still falling on the peaks in this photograph, and the high winds have created some choppy lake water. Yes, although you probably can’t tell from this photograph, it was COLD when I shot this!

Photographed on a very cold October morning right after an early season weather front had passed through, dusting Piute Peak with a bit of snow. The post front weather was very windy, as evidenced by the chop on the surface of this small lake.

keywords: piute, peak, north lake, autumn, fall, snow, squall, shower, cloud, blue, sky, mountain, ridge, morning, light, sun, aspen, tree, forest, grove, orange, yellow, green, gold, water, ripple, wave, grass, shore, shoreline, snag, grass, meadow, brush, sierra, nevada, california, range, usa, scenic, travel, season, landscape, stock

Lakes Below Duck Pass, Afternoon Showers

Lakes Below Duck Pass, Afternoon Showers
Lakes Below Duck Pass, Afternoon Showers

Lakes Below Duck Pass, Afternoon Showers. Sierra Nevada, California. August 5, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sun breaks through the clouds to illuminate lakes and surrounding meadows in the valley below Duck Pass near Mammoth Lakes, California.

This is an older shot that I recently realized has not yet been posted here. There is a bit of an ironic story behind getting this shot. A few days earlier some friends and I had started on a 14-day backpacking along a good size chunk of the John Muir Trail. (Including one short section that I have yet to hike!) After about four days on the trail we arrived an Purple Lake, a bit south of Mammoth, where I began to feel a bit “under the weather.” Because the next portion of the hike would travel across a section of the JMT that doesn’t provide many quick exits in case of emergency, I decided that I would evaluate my condition the next morning before heading on.

I still didn’t feel great when I awoke so, being cautious, I regretfully left the rest of my group and backtracked towards Duck Pass with a plan to exit to Mammoth Lakes and head home. So, it was an accident that found me descending this section below Duck Pass in this wonderful weather of mixed thundershowers alternating with bursts of sunlight – and which put me in the right place at the right time to see this beautiful scene as sunlight passed across this set of lakes.


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 and Amazon.

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