Tag Archives: black

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

Redwing Blackbird, Fog

December 2, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A redwing blackbird rests on a branch on a foggy early spring morning at Calero County Park, California.

Although this photograph was made in April, it evokes the Central and Northern California winter for me. This is a time when tule fogs are common – the inland valley fogs, which are different from the coastal fog of warmer months – and when the number of birds and other wildlife seems to increase, perhaps because fewer people are out and about than in the summer.

This photograph was made at a small pond that is not too far from where I live. It is near the start of a trail that I have hiked many times, a trail that eventually rises through grass and oak covered hills to low ridges that catch the morning sun. The small ponds is only perhaps five minutes from the start of this trail, and it is a place where I can often find local and not-so-local wildlife if I arrive early and approach quietly.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Glacial Erratics

December 1, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

Glacial erratics rest on top of a low granite dome in the back-country of Yosemite National Park.

“Erratics” are boulders left behind in the wake of the passage of glaciers, and left behind when the glaciers disappeared. They are found all over the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada and some of the most striking examples are found in surprising places – like along the top of this granite dome-like ridge in the Yosemite back-country along the Tuolumne River. After spending decades in these mountains I sometimes take these rocks for granted (and for “granite…” ;-), but every so often it hits me just how strange and wonderful it is to find these large boulders sitting in unlikely places.

I made this photograph in the late afternoon as the lowering sun began to cast longer shadows and as earlier clouds began to dissipate above the distant ridges. The Tuolumne River begins it steep descent into the lowlands between my position and the distant ridge covered with granite and trees.

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

Dust Storm, Death Valley

November 11, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A building dust storm begins to obscure the sky above Death Valley, California.

In retrospect, there were hints that this tremendous dust storm was coming prior to its actual arrival. Very early in the morning I had been photographing at another location and the light and atmosphere were a bit unusual. The dawn and very early morning light was beautifully warm, but the distant peaks were slightly obscured by a sort of atmospheric haze that is hard to describe but which I now recognize as being associated with incoming dust storms. Soon, large and impressive clouds began to appear high in the deep blue sky, but at about the same time the air closer to the bottom of Death Valley started to look increasingly opaque.

I left my early morning shooting location and began my trip home from Death Valley. After a stop at Furnace Creek – to treat myself to a real breakfast after days of camping – I headed north towards Stovepipe Wells. As I headed north I began to see the obvious clouds of blowing dust accumulating along the Grapevine Mountains, and shortly before the turn to Stovepipe I encountered the boundary between the relatively clear air and the murk of the dust storm that was growing directly ahead and off to my left.

Before entering the cloud – I had not choice since my route went that direction – I pulled over within perhaps a quarter-mile of the edge of the storm. Not wanting to risk dust getting into my camera, I unpacked my gear inside the car and decided to just use the lens that was already fitted to the camera. I stepped outside to find that lines of wind-blown dust were already streaming along the ground and that the atmosphere had taken on the strange and electric feel of these storms. Off to my left, the dust was beginning to kick up among some low, dark hills across a nearby wash, while a gap in the dust clouds momentarily left open a window to the bright sky and high clouds above.

Related: See my posts on Photographing Death Valley

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Trillium Plants, Redwood Forest

November 3, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trillium plants beneath the redwood forest canopy at Muir Woods National Monument.

This is another of the previously overlooked photographs from a few years back, this time from Muir Woods National Monument in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. I visit there frequently, and on this occasion I arrived just after the bloom of the trillium flowers had finished, but when the plants were still growing strong.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: black

Glacial Erratics

Dust Storm, Death Valley

Trillium Plants, Redwood Forest

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