Tag Archives: black and white

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Cranes Above The Levee

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Cranes Above The Levee
A small group of sandhill cranes flies into a mist-filled early morning winter sky above a Central Valley levee.

Cranes Above The Levee. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small group of sandhill cranes flies into a mist-filled early morning winter sky above a Central Valley levee.

Light comes in infinite variations — bright, warm, cool, clear, misty, back, front, reflected, glowing, harsh, and on and on. (I wonder how many ways there are to describe light?) Photographers and photographers may be characterized by their favorite subjects, how they compose, elements of post-processing, and much more. But what light they prefer and how they handle it may be among the most important factors.

I have my preferences. One of them is for light coming through a glowing, mist or fog filled atmosphere, so bright that you almost cannot look straight at it. In this light the atmosphere almost becomes a tangible thing. This winter morning in California’s Central Valley had that quality as this small group of sandhill cranes flew past.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Wetlands, Winter Fog

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Wetlands, Winter Fog
Early morning winter tule fog rises from Central Valley wetland ponds as sandhill cranes take flight.

Wetlands, Winter Fog. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning winter tule fog rises from Central Valley wetland ponds as sandhill cranes take flight.

Winter transforms the arguably-mundane California Central Valley landscape. Much of the area is agricultural country, and while that can look bucolic when fields are green, most of the time they are not. During much of the year they are brown, and during the winter the place can be quite muddy. (Don’t regard this as suggesting I don’t like the Valley. I do!)

On a January morning such as the on the day I made this photograph, magic can occur as tule fog rises and drifts about wetlands and as the sky fills with birds. To make this photograph I stopped along an empty rural road next to flooded fields and waited for cranes to take wing along a levee.

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 and Amazon.

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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.

Photographs: San Francisco

Between the Columns

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Between the Columns
A pedestrain emerges from between monumental columns along a San Francisco street.

Between the Columns. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pedestrain emerges from between monumental columns along a San Francisco street.

This photograph comes from one of my (formerly) frequent long walks through urban San Francisco, which is only a one-hour train ride away from where I live. My practice has been to periodically head up there very early in the day, and then spend the morning walking through various parts of The City with my camera.

This was not one of the “postcards from Pandemic” photographs. In fact, I made it last year before anyone had an inkling of what was coming. (Remember those innocent times?) But it seems to me to have a different context given what has happened in the past few months.

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 and Amazon.

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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.

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

Dunes, Mountains, Footprints

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Dunes, Mountains, Footprints
Footprints of previoius visitors cross sand dunes beneath desert mountains.

Dunes, Mountains, Footprints. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Footprints of previoius visitors cross sand dunes beneath desert mountains.

If I had my druthers I suppose that I would have preferred dunes that were untracked, but that was not the case. So here, I think, the footprints of those who visited before me may be interesting in their own way as they trace the paths that those people followed — across the foreground dune, up the face of steeper sections, and along the highest ridges.

My visit on this occasion was brief. After spending nearly a week on the road I decided to make my final night in this park be in the far backcountry, so I drove to a location that was interesting on its own account and which gave access to an alternative route out of the park. I had an afternoon, a night, and a morning here before I headed over to the east side of the Sierra and started home.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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