Tag Archives: stacks

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

Crescent City Sunset

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Crescent City Sunset
Sunset over beach, sea stacks, and Pacific Ocean at Crescent City, California

Crescent City Sunset. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset over beach, sea stacks, and Pacific Ocean at Crescent City, California.

This photograph came about in a somewhat odd way, if I recall correctly — though it isn’t the first to happen in a similar impromptu manner. This area of California’s north coast is beautiful and spectacular. We were there mainly to photograph in the redwoods, hoping that the oft-photographed foggy conditions would coincide with the rhododendron bloom. We got the bloom… but not the fog. It was about as clear up there as it ever gets. This sometimes made for slightly awkward photography. The foggy conditions can (or should I say, “could?”) extend the duration of photography, but without at times we found ourselves out of things to photograph.

My memory is that something like that happened on this evening. We had been photographing in redwoods south of Crescent City, with some success, but the light quickly passed through the ideal stage (enough of it, but not too much direct light) and became too dark to photograph, especially giving a bit of wind that was interfering with long exposures. So we headed back to town… only to see a sky over the Pacific that looked like it could evolve into something special. We headed out to the edge of the water, and I “made my stand” at this spot overlooking this large rock connected to the mainland by a narrow spit of sand. (Aside from the beauty of the scene, there was one strange moment. As I stood behind my tripod, some slightly inebriated fellow holding a beer can walked up and wobbly inquired, ” Is that the Canon 70-200?” It obviously wasn’t at that point. Then, “WERE you using the 70-200 earlier?” OK, yes, I had been. “Thanks,” he replied,” that’s what I thought. That means my buddy owes me another beer.”)

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pacific Coast Highway, Spring

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Pacific Coast Highway, Spring
Spring grass and wildflowers on the California Coast along the Pacific Coast Highway below Carmel

Pacific Coast Highway, Spring. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring grass and wildflowers on the California Coast along the Pacific Coast Highway below Carmel.

Just another spring day along the Big Sur coast. Really. I had the morning free so I headed down the coast, getting as far as the upper Big Sur coast, where spring was coming on strong. The hillsides were green (they will be brown soon enough!) and there were wildflowers everywhere.

This cove is a familiar one, located in the upper section of this part of the coastline, below Carmel and above the settlement of Big Sur. It is often a lovely spot, with the cove on one side and a point extending into the ocean on the other, and with rugged rocks and sea stacks everywhere. On this morning I looked at this scene across the headland, covered with spring greenery and yellow flowers.

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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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stacks And Headlands

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Sea Stacks And Headlands
Sea stacks and rugged headlands along the upper Big Sur coast.

Sea Stacks And Headlands. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sea stacks and rugged headlands along the upper Big Sur coast.

California’s coastline is quite varied, but nearly always interesting. There are flat and gentle areas in the south, areas exposed to wind and covered with trees in the far north. And then there is the (loosely speaking) Big Sur coast south of Monterey. it is an area of very tall coastal mountains, vast open views of the Pacific, and a shoreline that is often rugged and rocky.

I had a few free hours on this spring day so I headed south from the San Francisco Bay Area with the plan of getting some distance down the Big Sur coast… but not so far that I couldn’t be back by mid-afternoon. I’m a bit familiar with these formations, having stopped to photograph here in the past. This time I was struck by the color of the water, the springtime green of the plants, and the lights softened by very thin coastal fog.

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.

Commentary

Storm Surf, Big Sur

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Storm Surf, Big Sur
Storm surf batters the Big Sur coast of California

Storm Surf, Big Sur. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Storm surf batters the Big Sur coast of California

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.

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

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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