Tag Archives: water

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon

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Panther Beach, Late Afternoon

Beach and Rocks, Late Afternoon. Near Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Warm late afternoon winter sun shines on the sand, rocks and surf at a beach Santa Cruz, California.

Looking more or less south towards Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, and in the distance the Monterey Peninsula, this photograph was made from atop a slender finger of coastal bluff that almost splits this beach in half. In fact, getting between the north and south sections would involve some serious wading if it were not for the large “natural bridge” that cuts through the rock more or less directly below where I stood to make this photograph. Except for correctly a slight camera tilt, little post-processing was applied to this photograph – the intense colors come from the very late hour just shortly before sunset.

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.

keywords: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, monterey, bay, surf, foam, cliff, bluff, sand, rock, boulder, coast, shoreline, shore, sea, seascape, landscape, travel, scenic, people, nature, walk, afternoon, late, light, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cliffs, Sand, and Surf

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Cliffs, Sand, and Surf - Panther Beach

Cliffs, Sand, and Surf. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late sun illuminates sand, cliffs, and surf near Santa Cruz, California.

I suppose I must count myself lucky for living in a place where I get head to out in the late afternoon for the coast, wander around on the beach shooting photographs of scenes like this as the sun drops toward the horizon… and be home in time for dinner. :-)

Another in what will be a series of perhaps a half dozen photographs from this spot  north of Santa Cruz, California, where I photographed this past weekend. In this photograph the sun is dropping beyond the horizon and the very last light is hitting the beach in the center foreground.

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.

keywords: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, travel, scenic, coast, shore, landscape, surf, cliff, bluff, sky, pink, blue, cloud, rocks, reflection, foam, foot steps, stock, panther

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Last Light, Boulders and Sand

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Last Light, Panther Beach

Last Light, Boulders and Sand. Pacific Ocean North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light shines on surf and rocks near Santa Cruz, California.

After posting a long string of urban landscapes, I figured it was time to post some natural landscapes once again – so I drove over to the coast north of Santa Cruz on Sunday evening to photograph. This photo was more or less an afterthought – I had set up the tripod just on the ocean side of the natural bridge that provides access to the south section of this beach and I had finished shooting a pair of large boulders with the more distant surf and sea stack in the background. The light was going fast, and I was starting to pack up when I saw this arrangement of rocks nearby. Because I was anxious to get off the beach before dark, I just took a few frames using the lens that was already on the camera, a 35mm prime.

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.

keywords: panther, beach, state, park, santa cruz, davenport, california, usa, park, surf, wave, rock, boulder, cliff, spray, sky, cloud, sunset, twilight, evening, last, light, seascape, landscape, ocean, pacific, coast, highway, one, 1, reflection, sand, water, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Twilight, Point Lobos

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Twilight, Point Lobos

Twilight, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. December 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Silhouette of a tree at twilight over the Pacific Ocean at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Point Lobos is open until 30 minutes after sunset these days, providing an opportunity to shoot some really beautiful twilight skies, especially in the fall/winter season. I had just finished shooting along the shoreline and realized that I needed to head back to the car if I wanted to be out of the park on time. As I hurried along the road back to my car I saw this composition – I quickly set my tripod up in the middle of the road and made several exposures, knowing that the dynamic range was far to great to be captured in one shot. Just as I collapsed the tripod the park ranger drove up on her final patrol to make sure that the stragglers – that would be me! – were leaving the park. She graciously waited as I finished my walk to the car, packed up, and headed out of the park.

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.

keywords: twilight, sunset, evening, tree, silhouette, branches, trunk, shore, coast, rocks, island, water, bay, pacific, ocean, sea, orange, blue, clouds, horizon, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, carmel, monterey, peninsula, big sur, landscape, seascape, travel, scenic, stock, nature, surf, waves, kelp