Tag Archives: branch

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Leaves, Near and Far

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Aspen Leaves, Near and Far
A group of autumn aspen leaves against a background of aspen forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspen Leaves, Near and Far. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of autumn aspen leaves against a background of aspen forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

At some point during almost every aspen season I end up looking away from the big views and getting up close to the colorful leaves. I can think of several reasons that I do this. One, of course, is simply that the leaves are a fascinating subject, with almost infinite variations of color and pattern that are expanded by the many qualities of light that can be found in aspen groves. Another is that at some point, to be honest, the big views can become a bit to… familiar. I’m not referring here just to the lovely iconic views that are familiar — and which I photograph, too. At some point, the giant groves of beautiful trees with bright colors and white trunks may just start to look a bit too much… the same.

I was in a very familiar location when I made this series of close-up aspen leaf photographs, a place that I’ve been photographing for well over a decade — long enough to watch it change from a usually-quiet place to one that can be just a bit overrun. This grove, with which I’m also quite familiar, was in excellent form when I was there. The leaves included almost every possible color in the spectrum from green through yellow and orange to red, with a wide variety of leaf patterns. There was soft, luminous light intensifying the colors, and by moving the camera position just a bit I could find all kinds of variations in the out-of-focus background areas.

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Branch and Leaves

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Aspen Branch and Leaves
An aspen branch bearing leaves at the peak of autumn color, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspen Branch and Leaves. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An aspen branch bearing leaves at the peak of autumn color, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This is another photograph made during a brief “up close and personal” ramble through an aspen grove that was absolutely full of the widest range of aspen color I have seen — the full gamut of green, yellow, gold, orange, red, and even a few tan or brown leaves.

I enjoy taking a break from typical landscape photography, which tends to focus on the large view and on producing an image of the scene that evokes its reality to some extent, and working these tiny “intimate landscapes” with their immense range of variables. The scene may contain as little as a single leaf and rarely includes more than four or five, and the juxtaposition of the leaves within the group and against the background provides lots of room for experimentation. Here I used a macro lens with a large aperture so that I could could separate the relatively crisp foreground leaves from the amorphous and blurred background.

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.

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

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Globemallow

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Desert Globemallow
Desert globemallow flower and buds, Death Valley National Park

Desert Globemallow. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Desert globemallow flower and buds, Death Valley National Park.

This desert globe mallow is one of my favorite desert flowers. In most cases that I’ve encountered, there may be a few scattered bushes, sometimes filled with these intensely orange flowers for a few springtime weeks, and especially abundant after wet winters.

2019 seemed like a slightly odd spring for wildflowers in Death Valley, where I made this photograph. A lack of early winter rains lead many to expect a rather poor wildflower season. However, even though it didn’t create the famous “superbloom” conditions, there were quite a few flowers in many places. They seemed to come a bit later than expected this year — perhaps a result of the drier early winter season and then very heavy rains just before the start of spring.

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.

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