Tag Archives: america

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Plants, Fog, and Bird

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Winter Plants, fog, and Bird
“Winter Plants, Fog, and Bird” — A solitary bird perches in wetland plants on foggy winter morning.

Winter is the time of fog and migratory birds in California’s Central Valley. But once again and all too soon, we are approaching the end of that season. Orchards are blooming and temperatures are rising, and in a week or two the migratory geese will be on their way north again. The thick tule fogs will give way to the clearer skies of spring.

This photograph comes from a visit to the Valley back in January, on a day I chose precisely because it was going to be foggy. It turns out that I got too much of what I was looking for — the fog never cleared, and in the murk I could not find many of the birds I came for. Instead, I photographed the quiet and mysterious landscape.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Lake Manly, Winter Sky

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Lake Manly, Winter Sky
“Lake Manly, Winter Sky” — Winter sky and its reflection in Lake Manly.

Yes, this is a desert! We are back from our second recent visit to Death Valley. On the first we experienced cool temperatures and rain at the end of December. Since the prospects looked good for wildflowers in the months ahead we booked a late-February return visit. There’s always a lot to photograph in Death Valley but, as a friend pointed out, the stars of the show right now are the wildflowers and Lake Manly. I photographed both, but I’ll start with Lake Manly.

For those who may not know, Lake Manly forms in the Badwater Basin during exceptionally wet years. It was deeper and larger last year, but it is still there and covers a lot of the salt flats. We visited early in the morning this time. The clouds suppressed any brilliant sunrise colors, but as a counterpoint they produced beautiful patterns in the sky which were reflected in the waters of Lake Manly.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Death Valley Wildflowers

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Death Valley Spring Wildflowers
“Death Valley Wildflowers” — Hillsides covered with wildflowers after a wet winter in Death Valley.

We just returned from another visit to Death Valley National Park. Wildflowers are blooming in California’s deserts and the show is far from over. It has been an odd weather year in California, but desert areas received abundant well-timed rainfall that is producing an above average (and perhaps earlier than usual?) wildflower bloom. We saw the potential back in December and scheduled our return to the park accordingly. We were not disappointed.

Is this one of the proverbial “super bloom” years? Few are using that term at the present moment, but it is clearly an above average year. Some areas, like this gravel fan below desert hills, are covered with fields of desert gold flowers. Small flowers are underfoot everywhere. Other locations are green with sprouting plants that will continue to produce new blooms over coming weeks.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Mountains, Sky, and Water

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Mountains, Sky, and Water
“Mountains, Sky, and Water” — Desert mountains and hazy light above Lake Manly, Death Valley.

Many of my Lake Manly photographs look out into Badwater Basin, across the lake, and towards the Panamint Range rising in the west. For this photograph I found a camera position a bit north of the “usual spot” and pointed the camera south to including the sequence of desert mountain slopes beyond the lake. This view includes the interrupted reflections of those slopes along with salt flats along the edge of the lake.

This photograph is related to another I shared recently that also featured layers of desert mountains extending into the far distance. Both feature “atmospheric recession,” in which haze lightens more distant features and obscures their details. In addition to elements such as converging perspective lines, this effect also can suggest depth and distance.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.