Tag Archives: sutro

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

Muir Beach Overlook, Sutro Tower, Dusk

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Muir Beach Overlook, Sutro Tower, Dusk - San Francisco's Sutro Tower is visible in the distance beyond the Muir Beach Overlook in dusk light, in the Marin Headlands.
San Francisco’s Sutro Tower is visible in the distance beyond the Muir Beach Overlook in dusk light, in the Marin Headlands.

Muir Beach Overlook, Sutro Tower, Dusk. Marin Headlands, California. August 29, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

San Francisco’s Sutro Tower is visible in the distance beyond the Muir Beach Overlook in dusk light, in the Marin Headlands.

A few moments before making this photograph, I had decided that I was done for the evening, as the light was fading very fast and the brilliant and intense sunset and post-sunset colors were draining from the scene. But a turn or two up the road I came upon this overlook, with its view traversing the steep headlands toward the south to where the low hills of San Francisco just outside the Golden Gate were visible, Sutro Tower stood high above these hills, and subtle shades of blue and rose light were still visible.

So we pulled over, and I quickly got set up – again! – and made a few exposures in this dying light. This light is just about as subtle and difficult to photograph as it gets. In fact, I almost didn’t bother! On the scene, it was quite dark – darker than this rendition would suggest. And in that darker dusk, the haze that here partially conceals the San Francisco hills made them almost invisible.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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, Photographs: San Francisco

Ocean Beach, Winter Surf

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Ocean Beach, Winter Surf
Ocean Beach, Winter Surf

Ocean Beach, Winter Surf. San Francisco, California. January 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of winter surf along Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California.

On a day like this one it was hard to resist shooting from an obvious spot like this – right by the Cliff House, looking south along the incoming winter surf at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. With the strong backlight coming through the ocean spray and overcast and fog, the light was very diffused, and it made it possible to shoot directly into the otherwise impossibly bright direct reflections of the sun on the surf. A lot of what is in this photograph is subtle, and you might miss it in this small on-screen image – but look for the very faint outline of the distant hills of the San Francisco Peninsula and the subtle differences in tonality in the cloudy sky.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog

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Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog
Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog

Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog. San Francisco, California. January 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of Pacific Ocean fog and winter surf beating against shoreline below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

There is an overlook just north of the ruins of the Sutro Baths that provides a clear view of the historic (and iconic) Cliff House Restaurant atop the cliffs near Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California. On a day like this one, the surf from winter Pacific Ocean storms pounds the base of the cliffs. At the lower left a bit of the old ruins of the Sutro Baths can be seen – it is hard to imagine how anyone constructed the walls and platforms and then the buildings of this facility.

(I posted a possibly more dramatic vertical format version of this scene a few days ago.)

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.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths

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Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths
Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths

Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths. San Francisco, California. January 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photographs of visitors to the ruins of the Sutro Baths below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

I have known of the Sutro Baths ruins for a long time – since I was a child, really – and I’ve seen them before from the top of the bluff near the iconic Cliff House Restaurant at the north end of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. But this was my first visit to the actual site. The story is that this is the site of what was once a large privately-operated pool and bath complex that sat right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Decades ago it was being demolished (or so I understand) when there was a fire that destroyed the buildings and left only the foundations and what appear to be the outlines of old pools. To me the site feels like visiting some very ancient ruins.

On the day we visited the surf was fairly large. While I’m sure it gets even larger in the middle of a bit Pacific winter storm, it was impressive nonetheless, especially since the site of the baths is right on the edge of the ocean. The light was wonderful. Even though it was essentially midday when we visited, the light was softened and diffused by a combination of clouds and the thick mist created by the spray from the waves. Although I had a tripod with me, I had left it in the car – so this is a hand held photograph. I think that actually turned out to my benefit, since without the tripod I could shoot more spontaneously. I had been watching and thinking about this particular spot and a composition that included the lines and shadows and angles of these walls with the Cliff House beyond. But all of a sudden I saw the people in the scene move into positions that I thought were interesting and I had to react quickly.

I’m not sure how well this photograph will work for most viewers, but at the moment it is one of my favorite recent images. Especially in the 13″ x 19″ test print I made this evening, there is – to me at least – a ton of interesting stuff going on in the scene. (Unfortunately, some of that detail may well be lost in this small jpg version.)

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.

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