Mount Diablo, Fog. Mission Peak, California. September, 2, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: This September morning on the ridge near Mission Peak was astonishing, with deep blue sky filled with mares tail clouds and coastal fog filling the valleys below and Mt. Diablo and other peaks rising above the fog. I originally saw this as a black and white photo (and it is presented that way elsewhere on this site) but after someone aske be for a color print I went back and came up with this version.
—–

Mission Peak and Mount Diablo, Sunrise. November 23, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: A small group of Bay Area hikers responded to Tom Mangan’s (Two-Heel Drive) call for a Thanksgiving morning hike to the top of Mission Peak, and were surprisingly agreeable to my crazy suggestion that we start the hike at 5:30 a.m. so that we could be at the summit for the sunrise. We arrived, in cold and extremely windy conditions, just before the sun came up, and this photograph shows the very first light striking the summit rocks of Mission Peak and illuminating Mt. Diablo in the distance.
—–

Morning Light, Oaks and Grass. Calero Park, California. November 25, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: This is a black and white version of an image I later posted in color with a slightly wider crop. This is a tricky photograph – there is a lot of complex detail in the scene, so it doesn’t lend itself to focusing on a few bold formal elements – but that is part of what I like about it. I think it is true to the feeling of this late fall morning on a central California hillside as the sun begins to shine though the trees.
—–

Oak Trees, Javelina Trail. Calero Park, California. November 25, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (Sales)

—–