Category Archives: Photographs: Central California

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Flock of Cranes

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Flock of Cranes
“Flock of Cranes” — A flock of lesser sandhill cranes feeding in an agricultural field.

Unless and until I return to my old files to review them later on, this is likely this season’s last photograph of migratory birds. I photographed this group of lesser sandhill cranes in an old corn field on my final seasonal visit back in early March. By that date the departure of geese was perhaps a week away and the cranes would leave soon after that. This was nearly the last photograph of them I made this season.

There is a familiar arc to “migratory bird season,” as I think of the period between about November and March. Although the cranes arrive earlier, I usually make my first visit to photograph them in November. At that point they are fewer in number and likely to be off in some distant inaccessible area, and mostly I photograph them during the morning and evening fly-in/out. As the season continues they seem to become more comfortable in their surroundings, and I can often find them close enough to photograph in the middle of the day. But mid-February they and the geese become extremely active in the weeks before their northward migration.

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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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Fog and Haze, Distant Mountains

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Morning Fog and Haze, Distant Moiuntains
“Morning Fog and Haze, Distant Mountains” — The Sierra Nevada seen through sunrise winter haze and fog in the Central Valley.

You may need to look closely at this photograph to understand what you are seeing. The foreground is perhaps obvious — a tule fog covered area of Central Valley winter landscape just before sunrise. Beyond that there is a slightly darker band of mountains. These are the Sierra foothills. But look above that. You are not seeing clouds. You are seeing a section of the distant Sierra Nevada crest.

It isn’t every day that the crest is visible from the Central Valley. In particular, foggy and stormy winter days often obscure the range from view. But at dawn — and on through the day when it is exceptionally clear — the range rises in striking fashion to the east and stretches as far as you can see from north to south.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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

Winter Tree, Dawn Sky

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Winter Tree, Dawn Sky
“Winter Tree, Dawn Sky” — A solitary tree in front of a winter sunrise, California Central Valley.

This photograph is the result of an unexpected and disappointing happenstance… that turned out fine in the end. I had driven a couple of hours before dawn to photograph in the Central Valley. But when I arrived I found a small group of people waiting outside a locked gate. That happens sometimes, and sooner or later the gate opens automatically. But this time it did not, and we could not find a way to open it. Rather than sit around and wait — and miss the sunrise — I headed off to look for alternatives.

A few miles away I came upon a creek and some surrounding wetlands where trees grow. I quickly found a few potential compositions in the rapidly arriving sunrise light. One of the first was this lone tree, silhouetted against ann intensely colorful sky. (Eventually I returned to that locked gate. Someone did finally show up annd open it.)

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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

Arch, Bridge, Big Sur Headlands

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Arch, Bridge, Big Sur Headlands
“Arch, Bridge, Big Sur Headlands” — The ocean meets the rugged Big Sur coastline with an arch, a bridge, surf, fog, and coastal headlands.

One more time, this subject from the upper Big Sur coast is one that I shared last week… and last year… and perhaps almost every year before that. Yes, I’ve been stopping to photograph here for years. Each time I tell myself, “OK, you are done with this scene now.” And almost every time I pass that way again I end up stopping. And I frequently find that the atmosphere has changed to present some new way of seeing it.

This visit was on a late-February morning. The surf was large, but not monumental. Yet it was enough to combine with thinning fog to produce a luminous haze along the edge of the water. This haze was gently illuminated by the morning sun rising above the coastal mountains, and its light arrived on the flat headlands at the left just as I arrived.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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