Tag Archives: snag

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

Monterey Cypress, Fog

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Monterey Cypress, Fog
A gnarled Monterey Cypress tree tops a rocky promontory on a foggy morning and Point Lobos.

Monterey Cypress, Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A gnarled Monterey Cypress tree tops a rocky promontory on a foggy morning at Point Lobos.

Finally, this should be the last in the four-photograph series of images that focus on this gnarled and weathered tree standing on top of a rocky prominence along the exposed north shore of Point Lobos. The tree is always impressive, but I was fortunate to catch it on a morning when persistent coastal fog was thinning and creating glowing light that was just slightly directional.

Of the four interpretations of this scene, this one fits with the earlier portrait-mode version as one of the two most conventional views. In both cases the tree is clearly the primary subject, more tightly framed in the portrait mode interpretation and including a bit more background in this landscape mode version. (The other two used wider formats and included additional elements of the larger scene — a clearer view of the white rocks and cormorants in one case, and some nearby trees in the other.)

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

Two Trees, Coastal Fog

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Two Trees, Coastal Fog
Two Monterey cypress trees in fog along the rugged north shore at Point Lobos.

Two Trees, Coastal Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Two Monterey cypress trees in fog along the rugged north shore at Point Lobos.

As promised, here is yet another way of looking at the scene featuring the prominent tree on the left, a beautiful specimen of gnarled and weathered Monterey cypress along the north shore at Point Lobos. For this version I pulled back a bit and took in the larger scene, going with a semi-panoramic aspect ratio that includes a wider view and includes a second tree and the fog-shrouded ocean beyond.

Photographers (and practitioners of other arts) often describe some aesthetic object as being “perfect.” I’m not so sure that the term, at least in a classic sense, really works for such things. It implies that there is one “perfect” and ideal way of seeing or presenting something. It seems to me that there are multiple excellent ways to do such things, especially in the creation of art. If you asked me to select one of the four (yes, there’s still one more!) versions of this photograph as “the best,” I’d find it almost impossible to make a definitive choice.

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

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

Monterey Cypress, Cormorant Rookery, Fog

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Monterey Cypress, Cormorant Rookery, Fog
Fog obscures a cormorant rookery behind a Monterey cypress tree growing on a rocky promontory.

Monterey Cypress, Cormorant Rookery, Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Fog obscures a cormorant rookery behind a Monterey cypress tree growing on a rocky promontory.

You might think that I would be done with photographs of this tree and its surroundings by now. But you would be wrong. And, yes, there is at least one more to come. Variations include portrait versus landscape mode, wider near-panoramic aspect ratios, the inclusion of more or less of the surrounding terrain, and in this case some wildlife.

The main feature and primary focus in all of the variations is this gnarled tree growing on a rocky promontory. In this rendition the wide aspect ration allows me to include more of the background. The most interesting part of that to me is the white (guano-covered) rocky knoll barely visible in the fog over the left shoulder of the Monterey cypress tree. This rock is the site of a cormorant rookery, and the young birds (almost as large as their parents!) stand and wait for mom and dad to bring them more food.

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 | Twitter | 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.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | 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.