Tag Archives: central

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Three Trees and Pasture

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Three Trees and Pasture
“Three Trees and Pasture” — Three dormant trees in a newly-green Central Valley pasture.

A band of photographers and friends has met in a semi-wild place every New Year’s Day for about a decade. We get join welcome tothe new year, share stories, and photograph birds and the landscape. Until this year we had a streak of good weather New Year’s Days, but we were due for bad weather — and we got it! It wasn’t exactly horrible, but it was rather wet and gray… except for a few moments when the clouds parted enough to allow some light.

These three bare trees are old friends of mine. I’ve visited and photographed them for years. This time I was intrigued by the light on more distant trees, the ominous skies, and the newly green pasture. That winter green is a characteristic of much of California. it must almost seem to those from other places that our seasons are backwards — brown and dry in the summer and lush and green in the middle of winter.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Dormant Wetlands Plants

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Dormant Wetlands Plants
“Dormant Wetlands Plants” — Dormant and dried wetlands plants reflected in the still water of a quiet pond.

My first “real” visit of the season to my favorite migratory bird photography location did not go as planned. (Actually, I did stop briefly a month ago and a half earlier, but things were still slow back then.) I was hoping for luminous tule fog and lots of geese and sandhill cranes. Instead I got thick gray elevated overcast and fewer birds than expected. Ah, well, it happens… and when it does I look for something else to photograph.

This is one of the “something else” photographs. This area is full of shallow seasonal ponds, and when they fill the summer’s plants still emerge from the still water and make fascinating reflections. For this subject the very soft light from the overcast worked well and revealed a more of the plants’ details.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Sunset Crowd, Florence

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Sunset Crowd, Florence
“Sunset Crowd, Florence” — People gather on steps at the Piazzale Michangelo to watch the sunset over Florence, Italy.

When traveling there is a fine balance between following the crowd to the iconic, popular sites and sights or striking off on your own to find more obscure things. We kind of like doing the latter, and we often spend a lot of time doing what might look like aimless wandering. But that wandering often gets us to interesting places that might be a bit more obscure. However, sometimes joining the crowd is the right choice, and this was one of those times.

We had been to Florence before and knew about the nightly trek up the hill to the Piazale Michelangelo to watch the sun set over the city. But we had never gone there. This evening seemed like the right time, so we headed up the hill, soon becoming part of a crowd with the same idea — perhaps despite some misgivings we continued and then arrived to find hundreds of people already there. These steps were filled with visitors, and some fellow began to do an impromptu comedy act at the base of the steps. Drinks and snacks were available from vendor carts. Before long everyone began to sing along with a solo street musician at the top of the steps. It was one of the most wonderful, magical moments we’ve had while traveling… and one that only happened because this time we joined the crowd.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Trees, Dusk

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Winter Trees, Dusk
“Winter Trees, Dusk” — A row of bare winter trees silhouetted against the a colorful dusk sky.

This photograph lets me recall how we greeted the New Year. It was the same way we’ve done it for the past decade or so — joining a group of photographer friends to photograph migratory birds in the winter landscape. A few of us arrived the day before, but everyone showed up before dawn on New Year’s Day to greet the first sunrise of the new year together.

This photograph comes from New Year’s Eve. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon, in time for the late-day light. It was a quiet evening, with a few clouds forming when I made this photograph of a row of winter-dormant trees in the post-sunset dusk 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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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