Category Archives: Photographs: Central California

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Wetland Dawn, Trees

July 11, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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!

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

Pacific Surf and Sky

July 9, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fog clouds dissipate above surf and offshore rocks along the Big Sur coastline

This is the third in my recent series of “straight out to sea” photographs of the misty Pacific Ocean horizon to the west of California’s Big Sur coast. You never know for sure what conditions you’ll find here, especially on days like this one that start with thick fog that gradually retreats off shore as the day continues — will you find yourself socked in or will it clear and leave you in bright sunshine? As I drove along this section of the coast I move continually between the fog and the sun.

I made this photograph and the southernmost point on this day’s shoot, where there was a turnout high above the ocean. The fog bank that I had just passed through a bit further north was here breaking up, and the dissipating clouds floated just of the shoreline. Farther out to sea, the horizon was blurred by the increasing mist and haze, and the fog bank lingered in the distance.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese at First Light

July 7, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of geese catch the first light above the Sacramento Valley

I’ll begin by briefly repeating the background of my visit to this place. Last winter, after several years of photographing migratory birds enthusiastically at some wonderful and familiar locations, I decided it was time to expand my horizons a bit. I set out to explore a few other new (to me) places where the birds can be found, mostly further north in California that I typically go to photograph this subject. These trips eventually took me all the way up to the far northeast corner of the state and even into Oregon, but the first excursion was to some areas in the Sacramento Valley.

I had read about this area and passed by it many times, including once or twice during the “bird season.” Shortly after New Years Day I decided to make a visit focused on photographing birds — and, as is my habit, the landscapes they inhabit. Many hours before dawn I set out on the long, dark drive to the north. I arrived at this place moments before sunrise and had to work quickly on pure instinct to find photographs in this unfamiliar landscape. I quickly discovered areas where there were birds, including this flock of geese taking to the air in the first sunlight of the morning.

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

Fog, Mist, Ocean, and Sky

July 3, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Looking westward toward the Pacific Ocean horizon and dissipating fog

I have something of an obsession with views to the west from the California coast, especially those in which details gradually fade toward and a distant and indistinct horizon. As a person whose family moved to this state when I was very young, and the son of a father who gradually worked his way west from New York through the midwest and the west to finally arrive on this coast, there is still, no doubt, at least a remnant of whatever it was that moved Americans across a continent — to arrive at its edge and look east to the unknown.

Minimalist Pacific Ocean views like this one have long intrigued me, especially when the light is extremely bright, to the point that the atmosphere glows so brightly that it almost hurts to look into it. This was an interesting day, one on which I escaped the hot inland weather to drive down the coast, where the fog was never far away. Here, at a spot high above the water, only thin remnants of the fog were present, along with a soft haze just above the water leading to a fog bank far off shore.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Central California

Wetland Dawn, Trees

Pacific Surf and Sky

Geese at First Light

Fog, Mist, Ocean, and Sky

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.