Tag Archives: sunlight

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

Big Sur Headlands, Autumn Light and Fog

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Big Sur Headlands, Autumn Light and Fog
Thinning fog, brilliant autumn sunlight , and receding headlands along the rugged Big Sur coast.

Big Sur Headlands, Autumn Light and Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thinning fog, brilliant autumn sunlight , and receding headlands along the rugged Big Sur coast.

This is a spot that I visit on virtually every trip to the Big Sur Coast. The place where I pull over and find this view is not a spot where you would likely consider stopping. The view is not really all that visible from the roadway, and I think I first found it by spotting the subject from another place and speculating about where I might need to go to find the angle I was looking for… and then successively trying a series of pull-outs until I found one that worked. I know — figuring out which wide spot on the road to use for my camera position sort of diminishes the romance of the whole thing!

But this view! There is a series of tall and steep headlands that fall directly to the Pacific Ocean here. Beyond there is a shallow bay, and then the coast curves back toward the ocean in the distance. The formation of the successive headlands is mirrored in a series of successive ridges running from the ocean back toward peaks. Of course, based on the photograph I made on this visit you will have to take some of this on faith since you cannot see it. Because the coastline here gradually heads further east as it goes south, by late morning the sun’s light reflects off the water, and when there is a bit of fog, as on this day, the effect is remarkable. The atmosphere truly glows, and it is almost too bright to look at. Since I have photographed this before, I’ll point out that that there are two features of this rendition that are a bit different. First, that glowing fog is unusual. Second, I decided to go with a bit broader composition here, and I included the sweep of the darker near ridge at the bottom of the frame.

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: Arizona, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest

Sandstone Dome, Darkening Sky

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Sandstone Dome, Darkening Sky
Sunlight on a sandstone dome against a backdrop of building monsoon clouds, Northern Arizona.

Sandstone Dome, Darkening Sky. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunlight on a sandstone dome against a backdrop of building monsoon clouds, Northern Arizona.

Working on this photograph from Arizona, it occurred to me that my relationship with the state is a bit like my relationship to Utah was up until about a decade ago. (I had foolishly avoided photographing Utah, for reasons that I’ve explained elsewhere.) Aside from work-related travel to Arizona for conferences years ago, I’ve photographed there only twice — and each time for less than (!) a single day. On this visit I photographed as we drove straight through the northern part of the state between the Moab area and Zion National Park. (The other visit was a spontaneous drive from Kanab to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon one afternoon — it resulted in a 15-20 minute visit to the rim as darkness fell. Then I turned around and drove back to Kanab. Seriously.)

As I continued my pandemic project of revisiting raw files from prior years this week, I came upon the photographs from that one-day drive across the northern part of the state. I’m struck now by what a remarkable landscape it is and by how much of it I missed. It was a spectacular day, with thunderstorms sweeping across the landscape, interspersed with clearing skies. Although I’m no longer certain precisely where I made this photograph, its sunlit dome and darkening sky is emblematic of that day.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Dunes and Mountains, First Light

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Dunes and Mountains, First Light
The first sunlight falls across sand dunes with a backdrop of desert mountains

Dunes and Mountains, First Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first sunlight falls across sand dunes with a backdrop of desert mountains.

Back in early March I made a trip to Death Valley, partly to meet and camp with family members and partly (of course!) to make photographs. Early March is still in Death Valley’s “cool” season, and I don’t think I saw temperatures above the mid-70-degree range. (By the time of my next visit the highs will likely be well into the 90s. And after that? I stay away from the place!)

When I travel to places like this it isn’t at all unusual to encounter other photographers that I know. (I once ran into a friend walking around a bend in a narrow slot canyon beyond the end of a 25-mile gravel road!) This time I discovered that a trio of photographer/friends from the Yosemite area were camped nearby, and we joined forces for an early morning visit to the dunes the next day. We met up and started walking well before it was light out, and we arrived in the dunes before the sun came up. Soon the first light began to slant across the forms of the dunes and we worked quickly in this ephemeral light.

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

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 Approaches

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Storm Approaches
Approaching storm, sunlight on water, clearing fog along the Big Sur coast

Storm Approaches. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Approaching storm, sunlight on water, clearing fog along the Big Sur coast.

While summer is the most popular time for tourists to visit California’s spectacular Big Sur coastline, I’d rather go there in the winter — which is just what I did today. This is the season of the most interesting and dynamic conditions — storms approaching and departing, big surf, clouds and mist, and the low sun reflecting on the water.

To be honest, I initially thought that I might get ahead of the next Pacific weather front, which was scheduled to arrive in the evening. The weather forecast was calling for partly sunny morning conditions, and I planned this little trip with that in mind. But as I headed south from the Carmel area it was obvious that there were plenty of clouds to the south and offshore. Here and there the clouds thinned enough to bring a bit of directional light or reflect off the surface of the Pacific, but overall the sky leaned in the “ominous” direction. I stopped briefly at this familiar spot to photograph this cliff descending steeply into the water, with a few thinning fog clouds dissipating along the ridge of the mountains extending to teh south.

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

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.