Tag Archives: water

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Breaker

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Breaker
“Breaker” — Waves generated by a big Pacific Ocean storm break near the California coastline.

It is quite an experience to get up close and personal with huge storm surf like this — though having a very long lens and finding the right shooting location helps makes it safe. We headed to the coast south of San Francisco during California’s bout of giant waves between Christmas and New Year’s Day. At this location a peninsula juts out into the ocean between a beach and a bay. At the tip of this peninsula one is very close to the waves as they break and roll into that bay.

In a way, photographing these waves is more or less like photographing moving landscapes. They have slopes, peaks, and cliffs, and the effects of wind and light are part of the scene. The main difference is that everything is ephemeral. The landscape stands still, but when photographing waves the landscape photographer has to think more like someone photographing active wildlife or sports, making instantaneous, intuitive decisions about timing and composition.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Winter Wave

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Winter Wave
“Winter Wave” — A winter storm wave breaks along the California coast.

This is another photo from the California coast during the recent period of extremely high surf. We spent an afternoon along the Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, where the surf was absolutely huge — as large as I’ve ever seen it there. The waves were so big that their spray filled the air along the coast and even spread inland.

The day started out cloudy with light rain from a passing storm system. (The waves came from a different system that was still far out at sea.) As the day wore on the skies began to clear, and I made this photograph when blue skies were beginning to dominate. While the sky was clearing, the high surf remained and the spray still filled the air and softened the light.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Breaking Wave

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Breaking Wave
“Breaking Wave” — Breaking winter storm wave, Northern California Coast.

Winter surf on California’s coast was so impressive between Christmas and New Year’s Day that it made national news. As happens this time of year, a powerful Pacific storm far offshore produced a huge swell. The biggest waves were upwards of 30 feet tall, and they created real danger to those who live at the coast and to visitors who ventured too close. Naturally, we headed straight over there to view (carefully) the power of nature!

The weather was pretty gray when we arrived, but the storm (which was less impressive than the waves) began to clear and rays of sunlight moved across the surface of the ocean. I went to a peninsula extending into the ocean, and from there I had close-up views of the action. I made this photograph as a huge wave rolled through one of those sunlit patches and began to break.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pier 57, Crane Barge

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Pier 57, Crane Barge
A crane barge docked next to Pier 57, Manhattan.

Pier 57, Crane Barge. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A crane barge docked next to Pier 57, Manhattan.

Manhattan’s Hudson River waterfront fascinates me. It is a busy place with lots of vehicle traffic, but many facilities along the shore have been and are being transformed. Old piers fall into ruin, others are converted to new purposes. New structures extend the city over the water. I made this photograph at one of those new places, the “Little Island.” It seems to grow organically from the water, and it houses a busy little park with enough elevation to provide good views of the surroundings.

This photograph looks up the shoreline to Pier 57, a renovated structure that is now a commercial space and which includes its own park. The relationship between the building’s green paint and the red-orange color of the crane caught my attention, as did the colorful reflection in the water just beyond the old pilings.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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