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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Oak, Valley, and Ridge. Calero Park, California. November 25, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: I was out for a short morning hike at this nearby park when everything came togehter for this shot. Before this moment the light had actually been fairly lifeless but, anticipating that the clouds would break up soon, I had aimed to be on this ridge as the light came through – and this time I was lucky. The spot is actually nothing all that special and you might easily walk right past it on a hike. However, the back light behind the oak created interesting highlights on the grass, there was a beautiful light on the oaks and grass in the valley beyond, and the clouds were just breaking up over the distant ridge.
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Morning Light, Oaks and Grass (color). Calero Park, California. November 25, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: This was taken from nearly the same spot as the black and white photo posted above. I was interested in the complexity of the textures of the oak trees and the grass, the backlight on the grass, and the line of three oak trees receding from the tree at the right.
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