Rock Formations, Mission Peak Ridge. San Francisco Bay Area, California. September 2, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: I “found” these rock formations on the ridgeline south of Mission Peak, a high point in the southeast part of the San Francisco Bay Area, and I return frequently to photograph them in various conditions. This photograph was made on a sunny September morning earlier this year.
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Mission Peak and Mount Diablo. September 2, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: On this brilliant September morning near a rocky outcrop on the ridge south of Mission Peak, the views above the coastal fog and below the high clouds extended many miles in all directions.
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Morning, Mission Peak Ridge. October 28, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: I often hike to the top of Mission Peak, but recently I have begun taking a detour from the busy main trail and instead following an alternate route that reaches the ridge just south of the peak. On this day I had hoped to arrive by sunrise but didn’t quite make it. However, I was attracted to this post-sunrise light creating a pattern of shadows on a ridge just west of the peak – light that would not have been there at sunrise.
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Oak Grove, Javelina Trail. Calero Park, California. November 25, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: I love the open oak grasslands of central California, especially in winter when the grasses go dormant and the light filters through the leafless trees. I was on the return leg of a loop hike at Calero County Park when I came upon this section of the trail is it climbed around a curve and into this grove of oaks.
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