Tag Archives: surf

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

Rugged Rocks, Soberanes

September 9, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Rugged rocks and surf along the Big Sur coastline at Soberanes Creek.

I’m not certain if this spot has a real name or not, but it seems like it might be something like Soberanes Cove or perhaps Soberanes Bay, since it is at the outlet of the stream that comes down to the Soberanes Canyon from tall, steep coastal hills before entering the Pacific in this rugged, rocky area of the northern Big Sur coast not far below Carmel. Here, as the Coast Highway heads south, it makes a bit of an inland turn to cross the stream and then turns back toward the ocean to rise over another prominence that extends further toward the water. As it does so, a view opens back across the coastal bluff and over this rock-filled section of water toward the rocky coastline.

This was an “interesting” light evening along the coast – in some ways very difficult light, but with short-lived sections of more light that was very beautiful. The fog was hugging the shore line, sometimes extending a bit inland to the coastal hills, cutting off all of the late-day light. But occasionally, where the shore curves inland a bit, as in this cove, the overcast opened up a bit and perhaps even pulled away from the immediately coast and allowed some filtered light to strike the rocks and the water and the shoreline.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Mendocino Coast, Evening

September 4, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light on coastal bluffs below the village of Mendocino, California.

The little village of Mendocino, now largely a somewhat rural vacation spot, has a lot going for it: connections to a number of historical traditions, lots of quaint old buildings with that weathered look of coastal communities, tons of places to stay, great food, and California’ Pacific Ocean coastline. Though the chamber of commerce might disagree, it seems to be just far enough from major population centers to escape the over-running crowds and rampant souvenir-ism of places like Carmel that once had this same sort of charm. The village sits on a wide peninsula that just out into the Pacific and gradually angles down toward the water, ending in relatively low coastal bluffs and shoreline rocks.

It is often foggy in the part of California, but on our late-August visit we had just enough fog to add a bit of atmosphere – but mostly it hovered off-shore and at times disappeared completely. On our final evening there, we had a bit of time before dinner – and who wants to eat when there is golden hour light! – so we walked out along the bluffs on the south side of town and made a few photographs as the day ended.

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

Foggy Evening Near Rocky Point

August 28, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening fog obscures the view of the Big Sur coastline near Rocky Point.

This photograph was made on my birthday, believe it or not! We had headed down to the Monterey area for dinner, and had a few extra hours in the late afternoon, so we decided to take a quick jaunt down the coast towards the Rocky Point and (almost) Bixby Bridge area. Of course, a little thing like a birthday celebration isn’t going to make me leave my camera gear at home, so this was a fine excuse to do a little photography along the coast highway.

The light was variable and challenging, largely because it was late in the day and the fog bank was moving right up against the coast. While in a few places it pulled back enough to allow a bit of diffused light to land on the coastal bluffs, beaches, and even the water, in most places the fog line was just a bit inland. As we drove south we were mostly in fog, but occasionally as we passed a bit further from the shoreline to follow the contours of a creek drainage or a bay we found a bit of sun. We finally stopped at this high overlook that provides a view back toward Rocky Point, the peninsula at the upper part of the frame, and I made a few exposures.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Rocky Point, Sea Stacks

August 17, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sea stacks near Rocky Point on a foggy evening along the Big Sur coastline.

This photograph was made along the Big Sur coastline roughly in the area between the Rocky Creek and Bixby Creek bridges, about as far south as we managed to get while wandering around before a 8:00 p.m. dinner reservation back in Monterey. (Hey, it was my birthday!) The Peninsula extending into the Pacific in the upper section of the frame could be any of probably hundreds of similar peninsulas where the steep hills of the Big Sur coast drop to meet the ocean – but this one happens to be Rocky Point. The foreground sea stack could be any of thousands (or tens of thousands? I see perhaps a dozen or more in this scene alone…) of similar features found almost anywhere you look along this coast.

The light was both interesting and challenging. In most cases, I would rather try to photograph this interesting, foggy atmosphere than shoot perfect blue-sky conditions. (The latter can occur, though not as often as photography might suggest! Fog is more common.) It was very late in the day, probably around 7:00 p.m, and the sun was low and mostly hidden behind the off-shore fog bank. Here and there the fog backed off a bit from the shoreline or thinned a bit, and slightly more light appeared. The sea stack was in one such spot, and around and beyond the point there is also a bit more 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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: surf

Rugged Rocks, Soberanes

Mendocino Coast, Evening

Foggy Evening Near Rocky Point

Rocky Point, Sea Stacks

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