Tag Archives: trees

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest

July 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forested bluffs drop straight down to the rugged shoreline along the north shore of Point Lobos

For the second time in less than a week I made it back to Point Lobos State Reserve again. After several days of very hot inland temperatures here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Point Lobos was attractive destination not only for its photogenic scenery but also for the promise of cool morning maritime fog. We encountered the fog well before we arrived, but perhaps an hour later it began to clear from the immediate coast, and I had perhaps a half hour of beautiful mixed light along the boundary between sun and fog.

I made this photograph at a location I know very well along the north shore trail at Point Lobos. When I was there late last week I photographed while it was still foggy and the soft light filled in the shadows. Today the filtered sunlight created more dramatic shadows, but a bit of lingering fog muted the intensity of the light and colors in the forest on the bluff above the rocky cliffs.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos

July 16, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dense forest atop bluffs above the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve

Point Lobos State Reserve, located just above the Big Sur coastline, is not a large park, but it packs a lot of beauty into a small park. I have visited for decades, beginning long ago when my parents moved the family to California when I was about four years old and we used to take day trips there to picnic and visit the tide pools. (Today’s visitors would be shocked to know that it once was a quiet place not overrun by crowds. Ah, well.) In my teens, when I first became serious about photography, I used to go there and try to channel my inner Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. And, often to my surprise, I still find new surprises almost every time I visit.

On this mid-July visit I arrived in the morning on a weekday shortly after the park opened and before too many other people were there. I was hoping to time my visit for the breaking up of the morning fog, but it stayed foggy the entire time. I parked my car, shouldered a pack full of camera gear, and spent the next few hours wandering slowly and almost aimlessly across the northern half of the park, just looking and enjoying the cool coastal air. Eventually I found myself on familiar ground, walking along the north shore trail. I have passed this spot many times before and may even have photographed this bit of forest, but I had not really noticed these two light-barked trees — one twisted and one straight — surrounded by incredibly dense forest growth.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Juniper and Sandstone Cliff

June 27, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tall sandstone cliffs dwarf Juniper trees growing among talus boulders.

Back in the fall of 2014 I was fortunate enough to be able to work with a great deal of autonomy for a period of about six months. This allowed me to be on the road in the landscapes of southwestern Utah for three weeks. With a long unbroken period of work in the field I was able to spend time in many of my favorite places — Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (now under threat from the current administration), Capitol Reef National Park, the Dixie National Forest, and Zion National Park. At times I worked individually, on several occasions I joined up with other photographers, and at the end I met family members at Zion.

I joined my friend and fellow photographer David Hoffman for a few days in Capitol Reef. The Fruita area was our home base, but we explored further south along both sides of this park. On this evening after setting up camp we simply went a short distance down the road along the great sandstone walls along the west side of the park and photographed the golden hour light and on into dusk. This scene is at the base of one of these monumental sandstone cliffs, where large boulders that have broken off the face are piled against it at the bottom and a few hardy trees and bushes have taken root.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Aspen Grove

June 24, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove beginning to change colors

How about a bit of fall color on this early summer morning? Every summer I begin to think about fall. There are wonderful things about summer — schedules, warmth, easier access to mountains, and more — but I prefer autumn. It is partially something as mundane as my preference for cooler temperatures, but it is also that I like times of obvious transition and times when nature has a slightly sharper edge. I’ll enjoy this summer, but I’m sure that every aspen tree I see in the Sierra in the next few months will make me look forward to autumn.

This aspen color vignette is a small scene from a much larger grove that runs up a hillside in the eastern Sierra Nevada. I prefer to photograph it early and late in the day when the surrounding peaks cast shadows across the trees, both softening the light and opening up the shadows a bit. Among the larger grove are many small scenes where straight trunks (not the norm in the Sierra) are visible among the leaves. On this very early October day most of the grove was still green, but the seasonal change was beginning with some of the smaller trees.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: trees

Shoreline Bluffs, Forest

Coastal Forest, Point Lobos

Juniper and Sandstone Cliff

Autumn Aspen Grove

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