Tag Archives: california usa

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

Sand Storm, Desert Ridges

Image Leave a comment
Sand Storm, Desert Ridges
The dust from a nearby sand storm obscures a series of ascending ridges.

Sand Storm, Desert Ridges. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The dust from a nearby sand storm obscures a series of ascending ridges..

On this afternoon I made quite a few photographs, and they range from a few with striking sunset and dusk colors to others that are almost devoid of details in the blowing sand and dust. Yes, it was a sand storm day, and that is precisely what drew us to this portion of the valley. High winds from the southwest were raking the sand dunes and raising giant, fast-moving clouds of sand and dust. They raced across the valley, traveling northeast toward the Amargosa Mountain range.

I made this photograph very close to the point where we entered the cloud of dust/sand. We had come up from a part of the valley further south, and as we got closer to the dunes and the source of the haze the dust began to obscure the sky and the view. We stopped here before entering the worse of the cloud and made a few photographs looking into it, with the tall mountains to the north nearly obscured

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Reflection, Morning Shadows

Leave a comment

Reflection, Morning Shadows
Shadows on lakeside meadow as morning light hits Sierra Nevada peaks

Reflection, Morning Shadows. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shadows on lakeside meadow as morning light hits Sierra Nevada peaks

This is a scene of what I regard as classic Sierra Nevada scenery. It also has the three main ingredients of many mountain photographs: rocks, trees, water. I made the photograph in the morning, probably most of the way through this morning’s photographic work. A typical morning in such a place begins with an alarm going off (quietly!) well before sunrise, followed by rolling out of the tent, grabbing camera pack and tripod, and heading off to some likely location to find morning light. Photography begins before sunrise, often moves quickly as the first direct light hits the landscape, and then evolves with the changing morning light… until, several hours later, it is time to wander back to camp and fix coffee and breakfast.

We were camped very close to this lake — though you could have easily walked past it and completely missed our camp, which was hidden away in the trees. We remained here for the better part of a week, allowing plenty of time to become familiar with the local landscape, photograph in a range of conditions, and make longer excursions away from camp. I actually did not photograph this closest lake much until near the end of our stay, when I realized that it was now or never. I made this particular photograph in the morning, well after sunrise but a few minutes before the sun peeked over nearby peaks to illuminate the shoreline meadow.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Bubble-Feeding Humpback Whales

Leave a comment

Bubble-Feeding Humpback Whales
Bubble-feeding humpback whales break the surface at Point Lobos State Reserve, California

Bubble-Feeding Humpback Whales. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. September 3, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bubble-feeding humpback whales break the surface at Point Lobos State Reserve, California

I had the morning free, so I got up early and did the counter-commute drive down to Point Lobos, where I had heard that whales had been spotted very close to these shoreline during the past week or so. Arriving there I quickly surveyed the water and spotted huge groups of sea birds above slightly turbulent water, a reliable indicator of places where whales might appear. I headed out to a high bluff with a good panoramic view of the area and almost immediately spotted whale spots and soon the whales themselves. As the fish (which might have been anchovies or something similar?) move closer to the shore, the birds followed, and soon whales (and dolphins and seal lions) also appeared.

I’m far from being an expert on marine mammals, but I’m learning! This past year or so has provided some wonderful opportunities. I have long known about gray whale migrations in the area, but I learned that while the grays tend to move past on their way to places north or south, the humpback whales follow the food and will hang out in one place when it is present… as it currently is around here. I’ve also learned about their remarkable group “bubble-feeding” behavior, where they team up and use some remarkable strategies to corral fish. Some of them will apparently surround a school of fish. Then another whale goes beneath the school and emits a tremendously loud sound that sends them upwards. Meanwhile, another whale circles and blows bubbles into the water. The climax is the moment when the whole group may suddenly burst vertically through the surface of the water, full “throats” and mouths extended and full of water and fish.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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