Tag Archives: swell

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

Punta de los Lobos Marinos, Sunset

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Punta de los Lobos Marinos, Sunset

Punta de los Lobos Marinos, Sunset. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sea lions atop the rocks at Punta de los Lobos Marinos at the end of the day – Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

After not getting out to shoot for a couple weeks – too much work at school! – I finally finished grading a giant stack of papers this afternoon and decided to celebrate by making a quick trip down to Point Lobos for a couple hours of photography. As I drove south I saw beautiful broken clouds and blue sky, and I thought that I might encounter some special conditions in – I thought – the wake of the passage of a minor Pacific weather front. As I got closer to Monterey it appeared that there were heavier clouds offshore to the northwest, and when I got to Point Lobos I had less than a half hour to shoot in decent light before the front came through and surprised me with perhaps a half hour of light rain.

I almost left, thinking that I might head further south and catch sunset light nearer to Big Sur just before the front arrived. However, I soon saw that there was light out to sea beyond the clouds and drizzle and I suspect it might soon pass and that perhaps there would be some sunset light. Since the surf was fairly dramatic I decided to head out on the trail to Punta de los Lobos Marinos, the rocky peninsula that extends out from the shore towards offshore rocks populated by sea lions (or are they harbor seals?) and birds. Once I got there I discovered that the post-front wind was whipping up a lot of spray and that the very low angle sun light was back-lighting it and the rocks in dramatic fashion. If you look closely you can see those seals/sea lions atop the foreground rock.

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

Pacific Ocean, Rocks, and Clearing Fog

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Pacific Ocean, Rocks, and Clearing Fog

Pacific Ocean, Rocks, and Clearing Fog. Big Sur Coastline, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Offshore rocks and clearing fog above the Pacific Ocean, Big Sur coastline, California.

Over the past few years I have a made a series of what I think of as “minimalist seascapes” that feature mostly straight-on views of the Pacific Ocean along the California coast, often with fog or clouds and various patterns on the water. As we drove south down the Big Sur coastline last at the start of the Fourth of July weekend I spotted the fog starting to break up over this section of almost completely still water – and I imposed on my wife to stop while I set up the tripod and made a few exposures. (I make it almost a rule to not do landscape photography while I’m with family. My work habits would drive any sane person completely nuts!)

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

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Wave, Surf, and Rocks

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Wave, Surf, and Rocks

Wave, Surf, and Rocks. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 30, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf crashes against the coastal rocks at Point Lobos with Carmel Highlands beyond.

This photograph was made from a bluff roughly between Weston Beach and Punta de los Lobos Marinos as the huge winter surf crashed on the rocky outcroppings along the Point Lobos coastline. The string of birds passing over the very large wave seems unaffected by the event. Portions of the Point Lobos Reserve and the Carmel Highlands are seen in through the fog and mist.

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Locations

‘Tis the Season for California Coastal Photography

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While summer is beautiful along the northern and central California coast – at least when everything isn’t fogged in! – my favorite time is the winter season. While I photograph the coast near the San Francisco Bay Area all year long, all too often summer here alternates between heavy coastal fog and (boring!) perfect sunshine.

Winter conditions are far more varied and interesting for photography. If fog is your thing, you get several types of fog here during the winter months. You can encounter the usual ocean fog, though it is not as frequent as during the summer months. But we also have ground-hugging tule fog, which is caused by relatively warm moisture on the ground (often following rainfall) forming low fog during cool conditions. While this is more common inland, it can affect areas near the coast as well. One of my favorite fog effects is one I’ve only seen during the winter; it is caused when huge pacific waves break on the coast in just the right conditions, forming a low lying mist right near the shoreline and sometimes paired with brilliantly sunny skies overhead.

The ocean itself is also more compelling during the winter. When the northern Pacific Ocean becomes stormy – even when the storms are a long way off – huge swells roll into the California coastline. (It is for this reason that the famous Mavericks surf contest is held in winter off the coast below San Francisco.) These waves are often 20 feet tall and sometimes much higher. Combine them with some very spectular coastline (I’ll mention a few places below) and stunning photography is possible.

In addition, as Pacific weather fronts come through, and especially as they pass inland and begin to clear, really wonderful cloud conditions occur along the coast. If you want to go for the obvious, pick a day of high surf as a Pacific front is clearing late in the day and – go for it! – shoot at sunset.

I’m fortunate to live a bit more than an hour from the Monterey Peninsula, so I head down that way if it looks like I’ll have good conditions on a give day. Point Lobos – where I photographed last weekend during high surf – is a common destination, but I’ll head south a bit further into the upper Big Sur area if I have time. Even closer, the coastline between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay provides outstanding, though sometimes less obvious, locations. Heading north, there are many options, but the Point Reyes area is often best photographed this time of year.

If you follow this blog, you know that I was at Point Lobos last week – I’ve posted several photographs from that visit already and there are a few more in the pipeline.