Photographs: Central California | G Dan Mitchell Photography

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Point Lobos Rock Patterns #1 – July 10, 2010

Black and white photograph of abstract rock patterns near Weston Beach at Point Lobos State Reserve.

This detail of the Point Lobos shoreline rocks was also photographed in an area just a bit north of Weston Cove where large rocks are lifted up at striking angles and the surf has worn away successive layers of sedimentary rock to reveal wild patterns. Some of the colors in this bit of rock were quite intense – the rock on the left is intensely reddish-brown in the original capture – and seemed to overwhelm the subtle patterns, especially those on the right side of the image.

I don’t know if it is apparent but this is a highly post-processed image. I don’t think it is necessary to spoil the fun by going into all of the gory details, but this image depends quite a bit on work in post.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 100, f/16, 1/5 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, nature, geology, rock, pattern, texture, abstract, weston, beach, landscape, pacific, ocean, coast, shore, tidepools, monterey, peninsula, carmel, big sur, curve, black and white, monochrome, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.25.2010 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean, Photographs: Textures :: 4 Comments »

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 – July 10, 2010

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 - July 10, 2010

Detail of patterns in eroded shoreline rocks, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Another photograph of eroded rock patterns near the water not far from Weston Cove at Point Lobos. Here the top layer of reddish rock has worn away in places, leaving a much lighter layer of what I guess is some kind of sandstone below. I’m no geologist, but this section of seashore has fascinating rock formations on the small and large scale where many strata have been exposed by the surf. In some places there a big gobs of conglomerate rock, composed of many smaller rocks “glued” together. In other places very thin layers lie one on top of the other and they have been partially uncovered and worn away by the surf, creating amazing patterns.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 100, f/16, 1/6 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, carmel, big, sur, monterey, peninsula, coast, shore, sea, ocean, pacific, scenic, travel, nature, geology, texture, form, shape, rock, erosion, sand, stone, sedimentary, landscape, detail

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.17.2010 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean :: No Comments »

Shoreline Forest, Whalers Cove

Forest along the rocky shoreline of Whalers Cove with Big Sur hills rising in to the fog in the background, Point Lobos State Reserve.

At the far point on my hike last weekend I made it to the rocky point above Whalers Cove. Although it was still foggy – and it remained so all day – the light at the edge of the fog was just barely visible along the inland hills above Point Lobos. The diffused and soft light allows more of the details of the forest to be visible (rather than being lost in deep shadow) and the water of the cove was almost completely still on this very calm day.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 160mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/60 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, whalers, cover, shore, shoreline, rock, cliff, edge, tree, monterey, cypress, pine, north, trail, fog, big, sur, monterey, peninsula, carmel, hills, mountains, forest, ridge, kelp, water, bay, pacific, coast, ocean, sea, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.16.2010 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean :: No Comments »

Cliffside Forest, Point Lobos

Thick forest growth along the top of cliffs along the Northside Trail at Point Lobos State Reserve.

The bit of thick forest with a carpet of green plants and yellow flowers grows on the edge of the cliff above the Pacific Ocean along the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve. The soft and diffused light from coastal fog allows the colors of the plants to come out, but it also makes for a complex image since even the normally shaded areas are well lit. The idea here was to try to create a very complex image that is somewhat held together by the vertical patterns of the tree trunks.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 140mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/20 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, cypress, pine, tree, forest, grass, plant, flower, cliff, rock, north, side, trail, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, monterey, county, peninsula, big, sure, carmel, coast, highway, one, pacific, shore, line, side, central, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.15.2010 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean :: No Comments »

North Shore Cypress Groves, Fog

Cypress groves in fog above calm seas along the north shore of Point Lobos State Reserve.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in the Carmel area on this Saturday so that I could attend a lecture by John Sexton and the opening of his show at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel. (Be sure to visit if you are in the area, and also see the Ansel Adams show at the Monterey Museum of Art.) Since I was going to be in Carmel in the late afternoon, I figured I had a good excuse to photograph in the area in the morning and then again in the evening after the show.

I arrived at Point Lobos close to opening time for the Reserve and, not surprisingly, it was foggy. The unusual element in the conditions was the ocean – it was almost dead calm with barely a wave. I tend to rush to the coast in the winter whenever the surf is going to be wild and the wind high, so the quite calm on this morning was something a bit strange for me. I set off on the North Shore trail, taking a detour over the top of Whalers Knoll, before dropping back down the the trail along the cliff tops above the surf. This photograph was taken looking back along the north shore of the park from this trail.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 65mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, cliff, water, pacific, ocean, monterey, bay, morning, kelp, shadow, rock, rugged, cypress, forest, tree, flower, nature, landscape, seascape, rock, california, usa, north america, shore, peninsula, carmel, seashore, sea, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.14.2010 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean :: No Comments »

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #1 – July 10, 2010

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #1 - July 10, 2010

Detail of patterns in eroded shoreline rocks, Point Lobos State Reserve.

I was at Point Lobos twice on July 10. I arrived fairly early in the morning just after the park opened. (It opens late – not until 9:00 a.m.) It was foggy so I spent a few hours wandering along a trail that follows along the north shore of the park, mostly traveling through open forest along the tops of cliffs. I have some photographs from this activity that I’ll post later.

In the middle of the day – still foggy! – I suspended my photograph so that I could go into Carmel and see a talk by John Sexton sponsored by the Center for Photographic Art and attend the opening of his show afterwards. (If you are in the Monterey Peninsula area you should visit this show and the Ansel Adams show at the Monterey Museum of Art.)

Following the show I headed back to Point Lobos. I had heard a weather forecast suggesting some clearing later in the day, and hope springs eternal when it comes to the hope that the coastal fog will lift! It didn’t happen. However, this meant that I had lots of soft, diffused light to work with, so I headed out to these remarkably patterned rocks just north of Weston Cove to see what I could come up with.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 100, f/16, 1/5 second

keywords: point. lobos. state. reserve. park. california. usa. north america. carmel. big. sur. monterey. peninsula. coast. shore. sea. ocean. pacific. scenic. travel. nature. geology. texture. form. shape. rock. erosion. sand. stone. sedimentary. landscape. detail. pattern. red. brown. stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.13.2010 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean, Photographs: Textures :: 4 Comments »

Larkspur Blossoms

Spring larkspur flowers against a soft background of sunlit spring greenery, Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.

I made this photograph back in early April as spring flowers were just starting to really blossom in my favorite flower-filled gully at the Almaden Quicksilver Park near San Jose, California. The larkspur flowers often blossom early and pass quickly through their prime phase, and seem to be pretty delicate flowers to begin with – so I was glad to get there at the right time to photograph these specimens.

I photographed them against a background of grasses with the scene lit by sunlight filtered through high clouds. Using the maximum aperture of f/4 on the 24-105mm zoom (with an extension tube) made for very narrow depth of field and allowed me to throw almost everything in the frame other than the central flower out of focus.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM with extension tubes at 105mm
ISO 400, f/4, 1/250 second

keywords: larkspur, flower, plant, flora, foliage, wildflower, bloom, blossom, stem, branch, leaf, bokeh, blur, soft, background, purple, green, nature, san jose, santa clara, county, park, almaden, quicksilver, california, usa, north america, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: May.09.2010 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California :: 3 Comments »

G Dan Mitchell Photography

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Archive for the 'Photographs: Central California' Category

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #1 – July 10, 2010

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 – July 10, 2010

Shoreline Forest, Whalers Cove

Cliffside Forest, Point Lobos

North Shore Cypress Groves, Fog

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #1 – July 10, 2010

Larkspur Blossoms

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