Tag Archives: sky

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Last Autumn Sunset of 2008 – Point Lobos

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Last Autumn Sunset of 2008 - Point Lobos

Last Autumn Sunset of 2008 – Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. December 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset over the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve on the final evening of autumn 2008.

Sometimes, as hard as you may try to resist, you just have to shoot the sunset.

I was at Point Lobos this afternoon since it was a beautiful, clear day – and rain is coming tomorrow. Earlier I had photographed shore birds and then sea lions, along with the usual assortment of rocks and so forth. Within the past year or so the park’s closing time has been extended until a half hour after sunset, so I wandered up the trail along the coast near the south end of the park. I made some photographs of the rocks around bird island and explored a cove or two, and then after the sun set I saw this amazing reflection on the surface of the water to the west.

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: sunset, twilight, evening, last, final, 2008, year, pacific, ocean, sea, rock, horizon, clouds, water, surface, reflection, color, gold, yellow, orange, blue, red, sky, seascape, landscape, travel, scenic, stock, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, carmel, big sur, monterey, peninsula, coast

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Moving Water and Mist

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Moving Water and Mist

Moving Water and Mist. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 30, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Moving water and mist at Point Lobos State Reserve, California with Carmel Highlands in the distance.

This is a long exposure with a long lens. The large rock just in front of the distant hills is “Bird Island” at Point Lobos, and the hills are roughly in the area of Carmel Highlands. The misty water swirling around the foreground rocks is enhanced by a long exposure using a 9-stop neutral density filter.

keywords: point lobos, california, usa, state, reserve, park, monterey, peninsula, big sur, carmel, pacific, ocean, sea, coast, shore, land, hills, forest, tree, wave, surf, mist, fog, surf, ridge, mountain, highlands, bird, spray, landscape, seascape, travel, scenic, stock, sky

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Oak Leaves and Blue Sky

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Oak Leaves and Blue Sky

Oak Leaves and Blue Sky. Calero Hills, California. November 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Oak branches and green leaves against a perfect blue sky, Calero Hills, California.

I was out playing with the long lens (100-400mm) yesterday when I made this photograph of overhead oak branches. Handheld at 400mm. (For those who are concerned about the sharpness of the Canon EF 100-400 L zoom… this shot could provide some reassurance. :-)

keywords: oak, tree, branch, leaf, leaves, acorn, twig, bud, blue, sky, azure, nature, foliage, plant, calero, hills, santa clara county, park, san jose, california, usa, stock, green

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

Star Trails and Surf, Pacific Ocean

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Star Trails and Surf, Pacific Ocean

Star Trails and Surf, Pacific Ocean. Pigeon Point, California. November 15, 2008 © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of glowing surf and star trails above the Pacific Ocean coastline of California at Pigeon Point.

Every autumn the old beacon at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse south of Half Moon Bay, California is re-lighted for one evening. I first heard of this event last year, and I drove over only to arrive late and find that the lighthouse was fogged in. This year the event occurred on an unusually clear and warm evening so I headed over once again to photograph the lighthouse. We arrived early enough to join the throngs of photographers set up to shoot the amazing beacon from the original fresnel lens… but my heart just wasn’t in it when it came to photographing this scene. It happens. So instead of photographing the lighthouse we decided to wander around and just take in the scene.

A bit later I thought it might be interesting to walk up the coastline a bit and try a shot pointed back at the lighthouse from a greater distance. We found a nice flat spot along the top of the low bluffs north of the lighthouse and set up. But I still just couldn’t see the shot I was looking for, so I decided to instead turn my attention to the ocean itself. I thought that a long exposure capturing the star trails heading for the horizon and the foreground cove might be interesting. I set up and made one 15 minute (!) exposure in landscape orientation, but a couple of offshore boats with lights slowly moved across the scene – not what I had in mind. Having time for one more shot I decided to try one in portrait orientation with the same foreground cove. This time I had better luck. First, no boats! But even better, about 4 or 5 minutes from the end of the exposure the nearly-full moon topped the low ridge behind us and began to add its glow to the atmosphere and the surf! I wish I could say I planned this – but the best I can claim is that when I realized what was happening I modified my plans a little and took advantage of the situation.

keywords: night, photography, surf, star, trails, pacific, ocean, coast, coastline, shore, rocks, sky, glow, pigeon, point, mist, rocks, cove, sea, seascape, landscape, travel, scenic, stock, california, usa, highway, one, 1