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

Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog

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Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog
Thinning morning fog above sea stacks and bluffs along the Big Sur coast.

Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thinning morning fog above sea stacks and bluffs along the Big Sur coast.

Because I am fortunate to live close to some rather famous places I often find myself at certain photographic icons. Over time I have developed an odd relationship with such places — a sort of love/hate relationship. I recognize why they have become icons, and acknowledge that in many circumstances they are truly amazing places, locations that any visitor to these various parks and other locations will want to see. But over a long period of time two things changed in my thinking about them as a photographer. First, there are so many photographs of such locations that it is probably not a good use of my time to rephotograph them. (To new photographers, it certainly can be a good exercise to photograph them, if for no other reason that to think about how the great photographs of these places were made.) The second change is that, to a certain extent, they start to seem less special.

I have written before about, for example, how I most often drive past the famous tunnel view in Yosemite without even stopping. (I’ve also written about a memorable occasion when witnessing someone else’s reaction to seeing this view for the first time reminded me of what an astonishing thing it is.) Because I have visited the Big Sur coast for decades, I’m less and less inclined to stop for icons… and I’m more likely to stop at random, odd turn-outs just to see what new thing I might find. But this week as I drove past this spot and looked to my right the combination of blue water, drifting fog, and thin light on the foreground rocks persuaded me to quickly pull over and photograph this… icon.

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

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

Coastal Pinnacles, Fog

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Coastal Pinnacles, Fog
Rocky pinnacles rise above the rugged Big Sur coastline.

Coastal Pinnacles, Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocky pinnacles rise above the rugged Big Sur coastline.

On some days photography is easy. It seems that subjects are everywhere, and all of them are obvious, compelling, and beautiful. But most days aren’t like that. This week’s day trip to the Big Sur coast was great but it had its challenges. Ironically, the major challenge came from the trigger for this visit: fog. California summers can be “too beautiful,” if your idea of beauty is perfect warm blue sky days. (Though such days are increasingly affected by wildfire smoke, but I digress…) I prefer more interesting conditions, and coastal fog fills the bill. But it presents some challenges, often related to fickle local conditions. The ideal is to have just the right amount of fog, which means enough to be interesting but not so much as to kill all directional light. (A tourist stopped while I was making this photograph and, obviously distressed by the near invisibly of the nearby ocean, asked “is it always like this?)

On the plus side, there is virtually always something to see no matter where you stop along the Big Sur coast, and I “discover” some new features on every visit. For no particular reason I stopped above a small bay filled with fog, and when I walked to the edge I spotted this dramatic feature below near the edge of the surf — a peninsula with pinnacles running out toward a small island nearly obscured by the fog. I set up and made a few exposures, then settled in to way for a bit more clearing. The for was right up against the coast, and there was occasional sunlight only feet behind me, so I figured that the fog would continue to dissipate. I was wrong. Even though it was midday, when the sun usually wins out over the fog, the view became more obscure and this photograph, on of the first I made, turned out to be the keeper.

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Lagoon, Burned Hills

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Coastal Lagoon, Burned Hills
A coastal lagoon between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, backed by distant burned hills.

Coastal Lagoon, Burned Hills. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A coastal lagoon between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, backed by distant burned hills.

This is a photograph that tells a story, one that may not be immediately apparent. But once you see it you may connect it to a larger story affecting California and the west right now, a story that is beginning to affect the entire planet it concerning ways. It is a photograph of a small lagoon along the Pacific Coast Highway just north of Santa Cruz, California. This is a place I have visited for years — decades, actually — and it is usually a lovely, bucolic landscape. I made the photograph in spring, and even during this very dry year the vegetation is thick and lush and the lagoon remains wet, supporting plant and animal life.

But take a closer look at the ridge in the distance. It belongs to what we loosely refer to as the “Santa Cruz Mountains,” the range lying between the South San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The top of the ridge is covered with… the black remnants of a forest that was destroyed in last year’s tremendous lightning-causes wildfires. In places near this location the fire burned almost all the way to the ocean. Fires have always been part of the California environment, but what has happened in the past few years is unsustainable. Due to drought and high temperatures linked to human caused global climate change, the state is incredibly dry and any fire, even the sort that would have been quickly extinguished in the past, can take off and quickly get out of control.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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

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

Land’s End, December Mist

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Land's End, December Mist
December fog and light along the Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur.

Land’s End, December Mist. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

December fog and light along the Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur.

This was a wild and unusual early-December morning along the Big Sur coast. I drove down early on a crisp and clear morning, having heard that the surf might by quite large. Below Carmel I began to see the evidence — first the low coastal fog that rises above the surf on such mornings and soon the actual waves. I continued south, stopping at various points along the way to photograph into the fog and the raging surf.

This kind of fog has several special characteristics. When the sun is behind it, as it is in the morning along this section of the coastline, the hazy atmosphere glows magically. The intensity of this glow, combined with the opacity of fog, drains the colors from the scene, and in places the world looks almost monochromatic. This fog, being thin, still allows fairly long views, though most of the fine details of the landscape are invisible, leaving the larger features to become more apparent. In this location the Pacific Coast Highway runs precipitously along the edge of steep cliffs over the ocean, and the rugged coastline breaks apart into cliffs and sea stacks.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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