Tag Archives: black and white

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

Marsh, Tule Fog

February 5, 2015 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Early morning winter tule fog about a San Joaquin Valley marsh

When I first went to this place in the San Joaquin Valley a few years ago, I was only looking for birds. I had visited some wildlife refuges further up the valley already, I heard of this place, and I was intrigued by the name of the roads that go there. On the way back from an early spring photographic trip to Death Valley I detoured this direction on my way home, arrived just before sunset, and found sandhill cranes — I made a photograph that is still one of my favorites of these birds. I returned, sometimes alone and sometimes joining like-minded friends. I learned a lot more about the birds — though there is still much more to learn — and I began to see the place in a wider variety of conditions, and soon began to see not just as a place to photograph wildlife, but also to see it as a landscape.

The experience has reinforced something that I already learned from returning many times to photograph a different area near my home — namely, that there is often far more to see in a seemingly unexciting place than you might first imagine, and that over time such places can become the source of astonishingly varied photographs. Today when I go to this location, I always find something new or a new way to see and photograph something familiar. This morning was very foggy, and long-distance views were unavailable. It was so foggy that photographing wildlife was quite difficult at first. Instead I traveled along slowly and watched as grasses and other plants growing in ponds assembled themselves into surprising compositions as I passed.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin

Evening Shadows, Mono Lake

January 26, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening shadows fall across the western shore and islands of Mono Lake

The landscape of Mono Lake, near Lee Vining, California, provides a stark contrast to the Sierra Nevada just to the west. From the alpine ridges of the Sierra along and just north of Yosemite, the eastern slopes of the range drop quickly to Lee Vining and the broad valley beyond. The lake sits in a dry basin that has no outlet, so the water simply (for the most part) evaporates.

The lake is huge, stretching far to the east beyond Lee Vining. The landscape of the lake is simple, partly because the surrounding area was once submerged when the lake was much larger than it is today. Far in the distance is Boundary Peak and the ridge of the White Mountains. The sun sets early here, since the tall peaks of the Sierra raise to the west, and in this photograph deep shadows are already angling across the western shores of the lake.

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

Pond, Winter Fog

January 24, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A wetland pond in dense winter fog

In the winter California’s Great Central Valley is often covered by tule fog. This fog is sometimes so shallow that you can look straight up and see the moon, the sun, stars, and clouds… but it may also be so dense that you can barely see a hundred feet straight ahead. People who have to drive long distances in these conditions — the east/west drive across the valley or, worse, the north/south drive along its length — dread this for, and driving in it can be both nerve-wracking and dangerous. Some of us, however, respond to the dense fog alerts in a perverse way. They are our signal to head straight to the valley to photograph in the fog!

This was one of those days. We ran into the fog as soon as we topped the pass over the mountain range along the west side of the valley well before dawn, and then we drove slowly through it for over an hour to get to our destination, where we photographed in it until it began to clear a bit close to noon. It was thick and wet on this morning, with very limited visibility and a constant drizzle. But it was also very still, very quiet, and very mysterious as we drove slowly around this wetland area where the calls of invisible cranes and geese came to us through the fog.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Wings of an Egret

January 21, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An egret spreads its wings as it takes to the air above San Joaquin Valley wetlands

The great egret is an impressive and fascinating bird. They are found in many places here in California — along creeks and drainage ditches, near wetlands, along parts of the seashore. A few years ago there was one that lived at a small pond at a place where I regularly hiked and photographed, and I could count on finding it almost every time I went there. Their striking white appearance draws attention on the winter landscape, where they stand out against darker background and against California’s winter green. They are, perhaps surprisingly for such beautiful and graceful things, skillful hunters.

I first noticed them quite a few years ago in creek beds of urban areas in northern California, and eventually learned that they are found all over the place. They often stand almost completely still, though if you watch them a bit you’ll frequently figure out that they are hunting, observing and then slowly moving toward their prey. Because they seem so still, they look like they would perhaps allow a close approach, but they seem to usually have boundaries — get too close and they take off suddenly, displaying their large and beautiful wings and more than most birds they really do seem to float on the air. Photographing them on the ground isn’t too hard, though getting the in interesting poses can take some patience — but photographing them in flight is quite tricky. They take off suddenly, and I find it hard to be precisely ready for the liftoff when it comes. They tend to fly at very low heights, often flying along ditches and behind plants. And they are most often flying away from you. When I came upon this one I remained in my vehicle but got ready to photograph it if took flight, and when it did I have a tiny moment to fire of a small number of shot, one of which framed the beautiful wings fully spread and against a darker background.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: black and white

Marsh, Tule Fog

Evening Shadows, Mono Lake

Pond, Winter Fog

Wings of an Egret

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