The California Coastline

January 13, 2009 ·

Michael Reichmann

California CoastlineCoastal Vista, California 1996

Looking north from the lighthouse near Drake’s Bay (just north of San Francisco), miles of breakers march up the shoreline.  Only a few miles further north of here the coastline becomes mountainous and the character of the coastline changes dramatically.

Taken with a Mamiya 645 and 300mm f/5.6 lens on Provia 100.

Mirrored LakeMirrored Lake — CA, 1996

Driving inland from the coast toward Petaluma the fog that morning was so thick that any thought of photography was far from my mind.  But, within a few miles the fog began to quickly dissipate and I came across this perfectly still lake and receding fog.  Moments after this exposure the fog had completely dissipated. Sometimes life is wonderful.

This image isnota digital manipulation. 

Taken with a Mamiya 645 and 55mm f/2.8 lens on Provia 100.

Mossy Green Pond - Sea Ranch Mossy Green Tidal Pool — Sea Ranch, CA 1996

The rocky cliffs nearThe Sea Ranchprovide pleasure for naturalists and photographers alike.  Bring a polarizing filter because the reflections from tide pools can be tricky.

Taken with a Mamiya 645 and 35mm f/3.5 lens on Provia 100.

Foggy Sunsetƒâ€˜ Sea Ranch, CA 1995

We had rented a house atThe Sea Ranchin late summer and were having an early dinner indoors. The day had been very overcast and foggy. I’d hoped to get out to wander the sea cliffs with my camera but it had been so bleak that my cameras had remained untouched.

We all were startled as a strange purple glow filled our dining room. We rushed into the deck facing the ocean and saw this incredible sceneƒâ€˜ the sun just setting through a lifting fog bank. I rushed back into the house, grabbed my Nikon F4 with 70~210 zoom and was able to take a few frames before the fog closed in again and the sun was obscured once more.

This is how the scene was recorded on film. There is no digital or other manipulation whatsoever.

Sea Ranch Puffs and Cliff Puffs & Cliff — The Sea Ranch, 1995

I’ve walked the cliffs atThe Sea Rancha hundred times and every time have discovered something different.  An ideal vacation for a photographer and his/her family is to rent one of the houses in the meadows at the Sea Ranch, located on the California Coast just a few hours north of San Francisco.   Magnificent sunrises and sunsets are combined with coastal fog, sea lions, whales watching, tide pools and more dramatic nature than you can shake a lens at.

Among the rental agencies that we have used areRams Head Rentals.  There are several others and a web search will quickly turn them up.

Taken with a Nikon F4 and 60mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor

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Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.

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January 13, 2009 ·

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