Wetland Dawn, Trees. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Trees and dawn sky reflected in the surface of a wetlands pond, Sacramento Valley
Some people speak and write a lot about the role of careful planning followed by slow and methodical work in landscape photography. Sometimes that certainly does pay off, but I find that far more often it is about acting on hunches, making good guesses about conditions and locations, and being ready and prepared to take advantage of pure, dumb luck when it comes to you. This photograph is a case in point.
There is no way that I could actually plan such a photograph — the best I could do (and I certainly do this) is to carry around some ideas about clouds reflecting in water and about silhouettes of trees, and then be ready to recognize the opportunity and act when something similar actually appears. But to take credit for dawn clouds whose curve mirrors that of a grove of trees, reflected in a seasonal pond on a morning that just happened to produce a bit of ground fog and beautiful colors would be both egotistical and a lie!
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 and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.