Landscape photographer Charles Cramer is presenting a lecture in Palo Alto tomorrow (Wednesday, January 26) evening – free and open to the public. Highly recommended… I’ll be there. Say “hi” if you see me!
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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
Bare winter willow trees in swampy land near the shore of the Cosumnes River, Central Valley, California.
(Thanks to John and Tom for setting me straight about this “brush” – these are dormant willow trees. I have changed the title of the photograph accordingly!)
When I arrived at the Cosumnes Wildlife Preserve on this morning it was very, very foggy – which is fine by me, since I like the moody and mysterious possibilities that come with shooting in the fog. However, on most mornings the fog – even the persistent Central Valley tule fog – eventually thins out and the light starts to shine through. For me the short period when the sun first begins to force its way through the gloom is a special one. For a period (often a short period) the weak light begins to define and highlight textures and forms and warm things up, but the softness of the light still remains. An analogy that comes to mind is that short but wonderful period of the day when spring skiing that occurs between the frozen morning slopes and the afternoon slush – it is a moment that is worth some difficulty to find.
I had wandered about in the thicker fog for a couple of hours when the sun first began to appear. I was in what had seemed like a pretty gray and drab place on a levee next to a lower area filled with brush. Then, as the light increased, the green colors of the branches began to glow and the contrast began to increase.
(I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I have absolutely no idea what these plants are. They are growing in a low area next to the levee that appears to flood periodically. If any one knows… )
Sky is reflected in the water of flooded winter farmland, Central Valley, California.
A few days ago I didn’t know that this spot existed. However, I happened to run into a colleague while getting a cup of coffee last week, and as we talked she mentioned that she had just visited the Cosumnes River Wildlife Preserve. We talked more, it sounded interesting, and she sent me some information about how to find the place, along with the description of how to get to the place where I made this photograph.
I started at this location very early in the morning, but it was so foggy that photography was almost impossible – at least the kind of photography that I had in mind. Although I was able to hear the birds that congregate out here, I was barely able to see them at all. So after driving to the end of this road where it runs into the Cosumnes River, I turned around and headed up the Central Valley a few more miles to find the Consumnes River Wildlife Preserve.
A few hours later the sun was beginning to shine through the fog at the Preserve and I felt that my work there was done. I checked the time, at it seemed like I might have just enough time to detour back out on this road and see if the prospects were any better now that the fog was thinning. Again I drove to the end of the road, but along the way I noticed these flooded fields and made a mental note to take a look at them on my return drive. So, on the way back I pulled over and noticed that the faint high clouds were reflecting in the surface of the shallow water, and shortly after I framed my photograph a couple of birds flew across the scene.
Snow dusts winter oak trees in El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley.
A thick-trunk mature black oak fringed with snow stands in front of a grove of smaller oaks in El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley. The small branches in the upper part of the tree are so thick that they almost create a cloud-like effect in this light, as the low angle winter sun leaves the Valley floor in shadow. A few leaves still remain on the lower branches of the tree.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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