Tag Archives: surf

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

Point Bonita, Pacific Ocean

December 24, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of morning light on coastal cliffs and beaches near the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands with the Pacific Ocean beyond – Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

This photograph represents another “stop the car, back up, and shoot this now!” moments – the second one during a single weekend.

I had taken a long day to photograph north of San Francisco, ostensibly with the excuse of having to meet someone in the City that evening – heck, might as well leave early and spend the day shooting, right? I had only vague plans to head across the Golden Gate Bridge when I started out that morning, but I stopped near the north end and headed up into the Marin Headlands when I saw some pretty special lighting and atmospheric conditions over the Bay. After shooting that general subject (including photos of the Bridge, the Bay, and the City posted earlier and still to come) I drove on up the road and then out toward Point Bonita.

The last part of this road is a narrow, twisty one-way drive high on the coastal hills above the outer reaches of the Golden Gate. As I came around one turn the view opened up and I saw – for the first time, though I’ve been here before – this great view of Point Bonita and the Pacific. I quickly stopped, set up, and made a few exposures.

The Point Bonita area is an interesting one. All along this section of the Marin Headlands are found old forts and artillery sites, supposedly to protect the Bay from invasion by sea. There is no longer a military presence here – this is now part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, but many of the historic sites remain. Point Bonita itself is the site of a lighthouse at the north edge of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It is a wild place. Not only it is in a spectacular location of tall coastal bluffs and steep cliffs that is fully open to the power of the Pacific, but the lighthouse itself is on a small island set slightly apart from the main landmass. The only way to get to it is to walk a trail along the steep cliffs – which passes through a tunnel at one point – then cross the top of the low bluff, and then walk the bridge to the small island.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: california, usa, travel, scenic, san francisco, bay, area, golden, gate, national, recreation, area, park, stock, marin, county, headlands, point, bonita, fort, historic, beach, coast, shore, pacific, ocean, coastline, waves, surf, horizon, sky, clouds, bluffs, rocks, island, trees, nature, landscape, seascape, tower, antenna, trail, road, travel, scenic, black and white, monochrome, stock, morning, light

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

Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach

December 21, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Pacific Ocean coastal winter sunset at Waddell Beach, Big Basin State Park, California.

Getting this photograph was a long story with a surprise ending.

Late this morning my sons asked me if I would drive them to San Francisco and to their respective apartments. I didn’t have any other concrete plans so I said yes and decided to pack a lighter than usual selection of camera equipment and a tripod on the off chance that I’d find something to photograph. By the time we finished lunch in the Mission and drove through the Haight out to the Richmond and I finally traversed 19th Avenue to the south and got out of urban traffic… it was 3:00 p.m… and starting to rain – not exactly what I had in mind for photography.

I figured I might as well drive down the coast through Pacifica, and as I did so the rain began to increase a bit. Photography was looking less likely. But then I noticed that this seemed to be one of those northern California storms that cuts off fairly abruptly south of San Francisco and that the rain was diminishing as I drove down the coast. With this in mind I decided to get past Half Moon Bay and then see how far south I could get while the light was still good. I finally ended up in the large parking lot by the Beach where Waddell Creek emerges from the mountains of Big Basin State Park and merges with the ocean. Unfortunately, nothing was striking me as especially photogenic about the scene – there were interesting clouds, but there are often clouds this interesting and the light was otherwise not inspiring me.

So I got decided that it had been a fun drive and that I’d get back in the car and head home via Santa Cruz without any photographs. I pulled out of the parking lot… and about five seconds later as I crossed the Waddell Creek bridge I happened to glance down and toward the water… and I had one of those “Whoa!” moments as I saw this reflection in the pool where the creek reaches the beach. I quickly did a u-turn, came back and parked the car, grabbed my gear, and headed back across the road… hoping the light would hold long enough to make a few exposures of this thin strand of beach suspended between the real and reflected skies.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: winter, sunset, dusk, evening, pond, lake, creek, waddell, beach, cliffs, bluffs, clouds, pink, blue, waddell, big, basin, state, park, california, usa, coast, highway, one, ocean, shoreline, seascape, reflection, clouds, pattern, wave, sand, sky, landscape, nature, season, pacific, birds, tree, surf, stock

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

Gulls Taking Flight, Near Waddell Creek

December 6, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Flock of gulls takes flight over dark and cloudy Pacific Ocean near Waddell Creek.

This is a second photograph from the same location where I made the motion-blur pelican shot posted previously, the Waddell Creek Beach (part of Big Basin State Park) along the Pacific Ocean coastline on Highway 1 (the “coast highway”) north of Santa Cruz. When I shot this the light was truly dismal from a combination of ocean spray, foggy haze, and high clouds above.

Working quickly – fortunately my long lens was already on the camera – I pivoted and tracked this large group of gulls as they lifted off from the beach near the creek and headed north. Although I’m posting this small version of the photograph, it really is intended to be seen large – I’m thinking it might make an interesting print in a width of two to four feet.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: pacific, ocean, sea, coast, highway, one, coastal, california, usa, gulls, birds, flight, fly, flock, group, wing, surf, sea, ocean, shore, wave, foam, horizon, clouds, fog, mist, haze, dark, scenic, nature, wildlife, seascape, landscape, travel, stock, waddell, creek, big basin, state, park, beach, sand

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

Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach

December 5, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Three pelicans, blurred by their motion, fly just above the wet sand of a Pacific Ocean beach.

It has been a busy week and it promised to remain busy next week as well, so I decided to make a quick trip over the hill to the Pacific coastline north of Santa Cruz this afternoon with a vague plan to shoot some seascapes and whatever else might come up. The weather today was a type of typical central California winter weather – some tule fog in the morning that cleared to hazy light… perfect for photography in my book! I was hoping for something like this on the coastline, too.

When I arrived I found that it was even more murky along the coast (and colder!) than back home. I finally ended up at the beach where Waddell Creek enters the Pacific and pulled over to stop before turning around and starting back. At just that moment two large groups of pelicans were coming in from the south and landing among sea gulls on the beach. I quickly put the long lens on the camera and very soon the group of birds took off and headed across the shoreline in front of me.

Most often I try to make wildlife photographs as sharp as possible, but at the moment the birds took off that just wasn’t going to be possible. I had a 400mm lens on the camera, the light was very murky, my ISO was still at 100… and the birds were in flight now! So I tracked them as they flew past, blurring the background surf and sand and letting their wings blur as well. In the end, I feel that this blurry shot in which everything seems to be in motion better suits the subject and perhaps conveys the atmosphere of the scene better than sharper photos might. (I later adjusted everything and captured a few more traditionally sharp pelican shots – and in this light they strike me as pretty boring!)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: pelican, bird, marine, pelagic, brown, pacific, ocean, sea, coast, shore, shoreline, beach, sand, wave, surf, motion, fast, low, fly, blur, wing, formation, water, reflection, shadow, beak, bill, flight, california, usa, nature, travel, scenic, stock, waddell, big basin, state, park

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