Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands Pond, Morning Light

Image January 5, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The experience of photographing these Central Valley winter landscapes is full of magical instants — combinations of scene, atmosphere, and light that appear and disappear so quickly that they are easily missed. In one direction thick fog might obliterate the view, while in another direction the sunlight may be emerging and bathing the scene in warm light. This was one of those moments — a distant fog bank almost obscures trees, while the reed-covered islands are bathed in direct morning sunlight.

From what I hear, the residents of California’s Great Central Valley are not exactly thrilled by tule fog. When the conditions are right it can last for days or even weeks, holding temperatures to the 30s and 40s and remaining gray and damp. But I love those conditions for photography, and a forecast of fog is often enough to persuade me to drive four hours round-trip to be there.

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.

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

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Calle El Temple, Zaragoza

Image January 4, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

During our recent visit to Zaragoza, Spain our hotel was a few steps away from this street and from the church that I believe gives it its name. The street was a bit of mystery that we never solved. It looks like the ground floor spaces are filled with clubs and restaurants and other businesses. They are closed in the daytime with their roll-up doors shut… and covered with fascinating painted images and graffiti. The confusing thing is that nothing on the street ever appeared to open for business, even late at night even though we saw deliveries being made.

We stayed close to what I think is the boundary between the San Pablo and La Magdalena districts, very close to the Mercado Central. This is an old part of the city, and it is criss-crossed by many narrow streets, some narrow enough to almost compete with the tiny back lanes of Venice. (Although this area is old, there are also quite modern sections of the city not far away, including the shopping district near Plaza de España.)

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

Levee Road, Clearing Fog

Image January 3, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Every New Year’s Day a group of us gather to greet the literal dawn of the new year and make photographs. This year Patty and I turned it into a three-day event, arriving on New Year’s Eve and hanging around through the morning of January 2. This isn’t your typical place to celebrate New Year’s Day — it is a quiet, isolated place in portions of of California that is likely not on most peoples’ maps. But there is beautiful light, quiet, and frequently the sun rising through tule fog.

It was quite foggy when we arrived before dawn on this morning, but not the incredibly thick fog that makes travel dangerous. In fact, the layer of tule fog was shallow enough that we could see the pre-dawn sky overhead. The fog began to thin soon after sunrise, and here along the levee road the intense color of early morning light was winning the battle with the remaining fog.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Utah

Customers Line up at La Fama

Image January 2, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Any American who has visited Spain knows that the Spanish meal schedule is very different from the schedule back home. The most striking difference, of course, is that dinner is likely to be quite late — 9:00PM is not uncommon and it could be later. Other timings are different, too — lunch can be late, but don’t wait until 2:00 or you may find your favorite place is closed for a couple of hours. In this photograph the Zaragoza locals are lining up at 4:00 PM outside and inside this churreria and chocolateria.

For us, that long interval between lunch and dinner was a challenge. But it was clear that there were ways to fill the gap (and the stomach) during those hours. Everywhere we went we saw people sitting down for some kind of late afternoon snack. We heard that La Fama was a nearby “locals” place, and that sure seemed to be the case when we showed up at the 4:00PM opening. People were lined up at the outside window and inside the place was completely packed. Speaking virtually no Spanish beyond a few key words and phrases, we stopped and observed what was going on before finding our way to the counter to order… with a bit of help from a friendly fellow-customer who had a few words of English.

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

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Wetlands Pond, Morning Light

Calle El Temple, Zaragoza

Levee Road, Clearing Fog

Customers Line up at La Fama

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