Tag Archives: spray

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

Storm Surf, Big Sur

Image December 20, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The surf on this mid-December morning along the Big Sur coast was stupendous. The surf advisories spoke of 25′-40′ waves, and that seemed accurate. The biggest waves were so large that they broke over the tops of tall boulders and sea stacks, sending up huge columns of spray. Froth covered the ocean well beyond the wave line, and smart visitors stayed on headlands and off the beaches.

The largest waves came in sets of perhaps a half dozen or more. Watching the surf you might be lulled into thinking, “It isn’t that big.” And then a very large wave would appear, sending up spray and mist, following in close succession by a series of building waves of impressive size, which arrived in the spray of the previous waves. I put a long lens on the camera and shot across this gigantic surf, focusing on an area full of rocks emerging from the surf and shooting almost straight in to the morning light.

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

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

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

Storm Surf and Rocky Headlands

Image December 19, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

When many people think of California they envision beautiful summer days at the beach, with warm temperatures, bright sunshine, and benign surf. Aside from the fact that it is more likely to be foggy than sunny on a summer day along much of the California coastline, that vision is limited and it misses the most impressive conditions along the coast, namely those found during the wet season extending from late autumn through the end of winter. At this time the coast is the most compelling and impressive, especially when giant Pacific storm fronts roll through and the surf can be large enough to be downright scary.

We had such conditions for a few days this December. Local newscasts warned people to stay away from the coast and off the beaches, since waves up to 40 feet high were expected. Smart Californians do stay off the beaches at times like this, but we certainly don’t stay away from the coast! I headed straight to the upper Big Sur coastline to make photographs. I’ve seen big surf here before, but as I walked out onto headlands above the rocky shoreline south of Carmel and the first big set of waves came in, I’m pretty sure I gasped audibly as they piled up on the shoreline. The biggest waves come in sets of perhaps a half dozen or so, and they raise mist and spray that lingers along the headlands until the next set of big waves arrives.

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

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

Klamath Coastline

June 15, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Mist and fog along the rugged Northern California shoreline near the Klamath River

On the final day of my recent photography trip to Redwood National and State Parks I spent the morning photographing at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park before packing up and starting my drive south. My plan was to split the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay Area into two parts. On this first day of the return trip I would head south through more redwood country, drop to the coast above Fort Bragg, and then spend the night there before heading home the next morning.

I left Prairie Creek – somewhat reluctantly, since it deserved more time — and heading south on highway one. If you have driven almost any part of this remarkable route you know that there are photographs everywhere, not just in the parks, so I planned to stop along the way to make photographs. The route often alternately rises to cross coastal bluffs and ridges and then drops right down to the shoreline. At or just below the high points I can often find panoramic views up and down the coast, and this was one of the first such views that I stopped for. The light was subdued — hence the decision to go with a monochrome rendition — but the atmosphere was remarkable, with the surf throwing up low mist clouds right along the shoreline and the remnants of fog muting the distant features.

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

Trees, Sunlight, Waterfall Spray

April 30, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Bare trees silhouetted against the sunlit spray of a Yosemite waterfall.

For decades I have had an informal tradition of stopping at a waterfall during my first spring visit to Yosemite Valley, and getting as close — and as wet! — as possible as my way of saying goodbye to the cold winter season and hello to the upcoming warmer times of the year. Most often the location has been Bridal Veil Fall, one of the most accessible in The Valley and one that reliably produces clothing-soaking mist early in the season. Although I have photographed this “event,” the point of the visit has rarely been photographic — it is more about a reconnection with a favorite time of year in the Sierra and a personal celebration of the wild flow of melting snow at this time of the year.

But, of course, I can’t entirely avoid photographing the thing. That said, photographing the drenching torrent up close presents some problems. Cameras don’t like mist-filled air, especially when the mist is sometimes thick enough to act more like rain. Even if your camera is protected against water, you lens is going to get soaked quickly, and water-covered lenses and most landscape photography don’t mix. So my approach is to work quickly with a handheld camera. I know these lovely trees from previous visits, and I was hoping I could get close enough to photograph them against the clouds of spray coming from the waterfall, silhouetted against the brilliant backlit mist. I pre-selected a lens, stuck the camera in a waterproof bag, and headed up the short trail, quickly getting to the location of these trees. Standing behind a larger tree, I unzipped the bag and took out the camera. I stepped out of the shelter of the tree, pointed the camera up towards these slender trees, composed the image I had in mind, and made perhaps a half-dozen exposures before things got to wet and I had to retreat.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: spray

Storm Surf, Big Sur

Storm Surf and Rocky Headlands

Klamath Coastline

Trees, Sunlight, Waterfall Spray

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.