Tag Archives: carrizo

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Spring Growth, Stormy Sky

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Spring Growth, Stormy Sky
New spring grass and flowers on a hillside beneath a stormy sky

Spring Growth, Stormy Sky. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

New spring grass and flowers on a hillside beneath a stormy sky.

This scene somewhat took me by surprise. When I went to the Carrizo I was expecting to experience sunny, dry conditions, and even a bit of warmth. But as I approached I drove through occasional light showers, and soon after I arrived at my campground it began to rain lightly. (This forced a decision – sleep in the back of my 4Runner or set up my tent. The prospect of having to repack a wet tent the next morning forced the decision.) I set up my minimal campsite — which mainly consisted of putting out a few objects to make it clear that the site was occupied — and then I headed out to make late afternoon and evening photographs.

As I headed down the gravel road it was clear that the afternoon weather was going to be “interesting.” At times it was sunny, but then moments later a shower would arrive and drop some rain. As I drove past this flower-covered hill, the sky behind it was covered in very dark clouds, so I stopped to make a photograph emphasizing the contrast. As I set up, beams of sunlight passed over the foreground scene, lighting it up against the darker and more dramatic sky.

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: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Spring Bloom, Temblor Range

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Spring Bloom, Temblor Range
Spring wildflowers carpet the Carrizo Plain and the Temblor Range

Spring Bloom, Temblor Range. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring wildflowers carpet the Carrizo Plain and the Temblor Range.

When I first looked out over this section of the Carrizo Plain and saw the blue coloration along the lowest area I initially thought that I might be seeing one of the shallow, seasonal lakes that forms in this playa-like terrain. The color was almost right, and the purple-blue color had the shape of a large pond. But something looked wrong about it, and when I found a higher and closer vantage point it became obvious that I was looking at a very large and very dense field of Phacelia blooms.

I was probably there just a few days before the peak of wildflower color, and it almost seemed to me that I could see the difference in the extent and intensity of the bloom from one day to the next. Some of the largest displays are in the flat terrain right down on the plain, but higher up in the surrounding mountains there were also brilliant patches of yellow flowers. Some of them are visible in the creases and folds of the Temblor Range on the far side of this valley.

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: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Southern California

Water Tanks, Mountains and Plain

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Water Tanks, Mountains and Plain
Two abandoned water tanks at Carrizo Plain National Monument in spring

Water Tanks, Mountains and Plain. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two abandoned water tanks at Carrizo Plain National Monument in spring.

These old and apparently abandoned water tanks sit over a small seasonal stream a good distance up above the floor of the Carrizo Plain. You would think that the purpose of the tanks would be obvious, but I’m not so sure. I did a bit of (less-than-diligent) research to try to discover their purpose, but what little I came up with seemed to have less of the character of being based on primary sources and more than of something reportedly heard by someone who was told something by someone who thought they remembered that… You get the picture. I can think of two possibilities. As some sources report, they could have been built to ensure a year-round water supply for cattle operations. It also seems possible that they could have been connected to resource extraction operations, such as those at Soda Lake.

The presence of the tanks is a reminder that this landscape (like most landscapes, to be honest) has a strong human element — it isn’t exactly wilderness! When people visit the Carrizo today they most likely come to see the natural phenomenon of the springtime wildflowers. But the place has been shaped by oil exploration and (nearby) extraction, cattle ranching, “mining” of various sorts, and more. All of that aside, the backdrop for these remnant structures, especially on a spring day when rain showers alternated with sunshine, is an immense and spectacular landscape.

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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Drifting Fog, Hills

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Drifting Fog, Hills
Dawn fog pours across arid California hills

Drifting Fog, Hills. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn fog pours across arid California hills.

Sometimes I end up completely throwing out my photographic plans for the day. When I awoke in the pre-dawn darkness on this day, I intended to head down from camp to a plain and lower hills where I would photograph spring wildflowers. I fixed coffee and had a bowl of cereal in the dark, loaded up my vehicle, tried to sneak out of camp without bothering the “normal” people who sleep in, and heading down the gravel road. As I drove it began to look like the valley was, to my complete surprise, completely socked in by thick fog.

Before entering the upper limit of the fog I stopped at a turn on a hillside from which there was a panoramic view. Far to the southeast I saw that the fog was even in the mountains, and that gentle morning breeze was apparently pushing it up and over a series of high ridges just as the first reddish light of dawn intensified. I quickly put my wildflower photography ideas on hold and went to work photographing the ephemeral fog and light.

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.