Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

The Perch

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The Perch
A hawk perches on the topmost branch of a wetland copse beneath Central Valley autumn sky.

The Perch. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A hawk perches on the topmost branch of a wetland copse beneath Central Valley autumn sky.

This little clump of wetland trees is very familiar to me at this point, since I’ve photographed in this area for several years, typically during late autumn and winter months. I like to claim I go to photograph birds (yes, it is true) — but I also go to see and photograph the atmosphere and landscape of this corner of California’s Great Central Valley. One near constant with this copse is that there is virtually always at least one raptor perched on the highest branches.

This past week I understood a bit more another reason to go to such places. During the pandemic and its attendant travel restrictions, we’re all spending a lot more time in a very localized area around our homes, and for most of us that means that we are not seeing the expansive views that place like this offer. I’ve missed the wide-open sky and the big landscapes — and even short visits are therapeutic. For many of us it isn’t necessary to travel to a faraway location and a day or even an afternoon may be enough.

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.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sur Point, Cliff, Autumn

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Sur Point, Cliff, Autumn
“Sur Point, Cliff, Autumn” — Looking south into brilliant autumn light over Big Sur cliffs and Sur Point.

This photograph was made from the same location as the one I shared yesterday and, obviously, it includes the same primary subject. That is Sur Point, just north of the town of Big Sur and the location of the historic Sur Point Lighthouse. I was in that area recently, spending a welcome day in the presence of big vistas, big surf, and the autumn coastal light.

The other photograph focused more on the sky above the Pacific Ocean, placing the Point and a bit of surf close to the bottom of the frame in order include more of that gigantic sky. As an alternative interpretation I also aimed the camera lower to produce a composition that included the dark foreground cliffs just below my position. The curve of the dark foreground seemed to lead toward the peninsula holding Point Sur and to contrast with the brilliant light in the misty, back-lit atmosphere above the water.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sur Point, Autumn Sky

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Sur Point, Autumn Sky
Precursor clouds from an incoming weather front in the sky above Sur Point.

Sur Point, Autumn Sky. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Precursor clouds from an incoming weather front in the sky above Sur Point.

The mound at the lower right in this photograph is Sur Point, the site of an old lighthouse facility along the Big Sur coast of California. The historic facility has been there for a long time. From what I understand it was originally so isolated that the families that manned the facility had to grow their own food, and they were resupplied only occasionally and by ship. The point sits on a low peninsula, connected to the mainland only by a low, sandy spit of land.

This photograph embodies several things that attract me to portions of this rugged (though today quite accessible) coastline. It sits at the western edge of a continent populated by a people whose history included (largely but not exclusively) arrival here at the far end of journeys from the east. (Today it just be acknowledged that an increasing number arrived by other paths and that before those of us with shorter histories here arrived others had been here for millennia.) Here, as we look over the eastern edge of the world’s largest ocean, there is a sense of vast, monumental space — something that I like and have not been able to experience as much as I would like during the pandemic.

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.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Sunset, Wetlands

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Sunset above wetlands, Central Valley, California.

Autumn Sunset, Wetlands. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset above wetlands, Central Valley, California.

It seems that I must repeatedly relearn the lesson about not leaving too soon when the light seems less than spectacular. I recently spent a day out in California’s Great Central Valley, largely to photograph migratory birds, but also to photograph the landscape. I left home, as I typically do when going here, about two-and-a-half hours before sunrise. I arrived a half hour ahead of the rising sun, and I spent the next few hours photographing in morning light. Because the pandemic somewhat limits what I can do when not photographing, I took an extended midday break to nap, eat, and catch up on lost sleep, planning to resume photography a couple of hours before sunset.

At about the appointed hour for the resumption of photography a band of thick clouds from the remnants of a passing weather front began to fill the sky. The pre-frontal clouds were not the beautiful, fluffy clouds that often come after a storm, but were the flat, sky-filling banks of clouds that make the light flat and gray. It looked like the evening photography wasn’t going to amount to much, and I began to consider heading home a bit early. In fact, I went to a parking area and pulled over to repack my gear for the drive home, and I sent a text to Patty telling her I’d be back in a couple of hours. But then I thought, “I might as well look around one more time.” (You know the rest of this story, right?) A break appeared in the clouds to the west and a beam of light shone through. Soon I could see gaps on the far side of the clouds. And by sunset there were enough breaks to let the end-of-day red light penetrate under the clouds and light up the landscape. And, yes, I was still 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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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