Tag Archives: california

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Surf, Sand, and Fog

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Surf, Sand, and Fog
A wave breaks on a Big Sur coast beach on a foggy morning.

Surf, Sand, and Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A wave breaks on a Big Sur coast beach on a foggy morning.

This may be one of the “quieter” photographs I’ve posted in a while, but maybe that’s a good thing. It comes from another recent visit to the Big Sur Coast below Monterey, California. While it has been historically hot and dry in virtually all of California this year, the coastal areas have provided a welcome exception. Even on some of the days when heat (and dryness) records were toppling further inland, along much of the coast it was typical summer weather, cool and foggy. (Some folks are now referring the the current month as “Fogust.”)

We live in a San Francisco Bay Area location that, while not on or ever all that close to the water, is near enough to pick up the ocean influence, which here typically means high fog in the mornings and a breeze in the evening. On the day of this visit to the coast there was fog (and some wildfire smoke and haze) almost everywhere, but it was the thin sort that simply mutes and softens the features of the landscape rather than rendering them invisible. I stopped here to photograph something else, and after finishing that task I looked at the beach and saw this very quiet and peaceful scene of a bit of beach, a single breaking wave, and the ocean extending toward the foggy horizon.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Basalt Columns

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Basalt columns at Devil's Postpile National Monument
“Basalt Columns” — Basalt columns at Devil’s Postpile National Monument.

The existence of this photograph can be credited to two women. The first is my wife Patricia Mitchell. We were in the Eastern Sierra in a the autumn a few years ago to photograph fall colors. On this morning we were supposed to get up early and go photograph aspens, but we were lazy — we slept in and enjoyed breakfast, which is not the typical photographer’s ritual. Devil’s Postpile seemed like a potential option for photography a bit later in the morning, so that’s where we went. Arriving, I wasn’t so sure — there were crowds and the early light was gone — and initially I was going to leave my camera behind and just walk over and take a look… but “someone” urged me to bring the camera gear along just in case.

The second woman who played an (unknown to her) role in the appearance of this photograph is friend and photographer Franka Mlikota Gabler. She recently shared a set of lovely photographs of this location, and these photographs got me thinking about my one visit to the place… and inspired me to back into the raw file archive, where I found this photograph from that lazy morning when I almost left my camera behind.

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: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Wetland Trees

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Autumn Wetland Trees
Trees with autumn golden leaves against a foggy sky in California’s Central Valley.

Autumn Wetland Trees. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees with autumn golden leaves against a foggy sky in California’s Central Valley.

Yesterday I travelled down the Central California coast to photograph in what I think of as the upper Big Sur region, going as far as about Big Creek. I was originally thinking that I might have a new photograph from that endeavor to share today, but it did not quite happen. (Stay tuned though, I’m sure there will be something eventually.) So today’s photograph is a fall color subject that has been sitting on my computer for a while, awaiting its turn for sharing.

The photograph comes from a beautiful early December day, during the end of the “before times” when we could travel more freely. It was one of my first forays out into the Great Central Valley that autumn, largely to look for migratory bird arrivals but also to photograph the landscape. Light in this place is a tricky thing and can often be challenging. It can range from “blah” flat light through bright and harsh light, to fog so thick that you cannot see through it. There are ways to photograph in all of these, but they aren’t always easy. But every so often nature offers up some just plain beautiful light like I had this day. Diffused sunlight was striking the nearby trees with their autumn leaves, while the more distant sky was darkened and deepened by some fog and haze.

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

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky

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Full Moon, Bird-Filled Sky
The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

When photographing wildlife, virtually any time of day can present special, even miraculous events — but if forced to pick my favorite time of the day out in bird photography country, it might well be evening. The choice would be difficult, for sure, but some of the most memorable sights and sounds I’ve experienced while photographing autumn and winter birds have occurred late in the day: the evening fly-out of flocks of geese, the rising moon, the return of cranes, and more.

I made this photograph very late on a December day, at time time we might describe as very late afternoon or perhaps early evening. (Yes, technically the moon was not quite full.) It had been foggy for much of the day, but the sky had cleared and was now uniformly blue. It was the time when things are mostly slowing down and evening’s quiet is coming. And then the sky filled with birds for a few moments…

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.

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.