Two women pause near statues and trees with autumn leaves on a rainy day at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.
I like to photograph from near the top of the steps next to the building at the Getty that houses the photography section. From here the view opens to the large gardens below, with buildings beyond and to the right. If you watch long enough you can find interesting compositions as people accidentally assemble themselves as they walk across this space.
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.
“Man Walking, Rain – Getty Center” — Black and white photograph of a man walking at the Getty Center on a rainy and foggy day.
This is another photograph from my late-December visit to the Getty in Los Angeles. To recap… it rained. And it was foggy. Both of which I like. While I love the art at this museum, I’m also a big fan of the architecture — and it is also a fine place to photograph people.
I found this spot with many vertical forms of columns, windows and so forth along with their reflections on the rain-dampened sidewalk/floor. I found a composition I liked… and then I waited as individuals and groups of people crossed this space.
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Panoramic photograph of winter surf and rough winter seas along the Big Sur coastline at sunset, California.
This is actually a photograph that I posted previously, but this time presented in a panoramic orientation. The last bit of sunset light is shining through a gap in the otherwise cloudy sky. (I didn’t realize it when I posted the original version, but I managed to get a good case of poison oak by clambering out onto the edge of this bluff to make this photograph…)
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.
The last sunlight of the day gently lights the winter surf and coastal bluffs along highway one on the Big Sur coast of California.
This photograph is the result of a bit of good luck and a bit of planning. On this morning I heard a weather report that included a high surf warning for the northern and central California coast. I’m always alert to this in the winter since this can create some amazing photographic opportunities. With that in mind I decided somewhat spontaneously to finish up a few other tasks and then try to get to Point Lobos for some late afternoon and early evening photography there.
As I approached Point Lobos in the mid-afternoon it became apparent that I wasn’t the only person out and about on this last weekend of the holiday season! The entrance to Point Lobos itself was closed because all the parking lots were full, and scores of cars were filling the roadside pullouts near the park. Since I can go there when it isn’t so crowded I decided to change my plans and head south down the coast, ultimately going almost to Granite Creek.
At one point where the road made a broad curve to the right I was able to look back and see this panorama. I stopped only long enough to take a quick look and spot a use trail heading down toward the edge of the bluff. I made a mental note that this might be an interesting scene to shoot in the last light of the day, and then I got back in the car and continued south.
After finishing up a final shot shortly after 4:00 I decided to head back to this location. On one hand the light didn’t look too promising, as some high clouds were thickening and moving down the coast. However, it looked to me like it might remain clearer right above the horizon – I thought there was a chance of some “surprise light” just before sunset, and it seemed like this spot might catch a bit of it. With that in mind I drove back here, loaded up my gear, and wandered out to the edge of the bluff where I found this panorama.
With or without photography, it was a spectacular spot. The large Pacific swell was coming straight in to the beach below me to the right, and bluffs and sea stacks and surf stretched back up the coastline toward the Carmel Highlands and the Point Lobos area and interesting clouds were forming above. Now all I needed was a bit of luck with that sun peeking under the clouds at last light – and for about a minute or two I got the soft, warm light I had hoped for.
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.
