Tag Archives: clouds

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Grasslands, Winter Morning

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Grasslands, Winter Morning
“Grasslands, Winter Morning” — A foggy winter morning in a region of grasslands and vernal pools in California’s Central Valley.

One of my favorite John Muir stories concerns how he first traveled to the Sierra. He Walked! From the Bay Area! From what I recall he went via Pacheco Pass (today’s state route 152) before entering the Great Central Valley. I often take this route when heading east, so I’m frequently reminded of his journey. Concerning his arrival in the Valley he wrote,” “At my feet lay the Great Central Valley of California, level and flowery, like a lake of pure sunshine, forty or fifty miles wide, five hundred miles long, one rich furred garden of yellow Compositae.”

It is difficult to imagine what he experienced at a time when the Valley was a quiet, largely unpopulated place. Today it focuses on agriculture and business and the rapidly increasing populations in towns and cities along highways 99 and 5. But occasionally, in the right places, you can sometimes find yourself where it is possible to imagine an immense, still, quiet landscape in that 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Levee Road, Tree, and Fog

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Levee Road, Tree, and Fog
“Levee Road, Tree, and Fog” — Thick morning tule fog obscures the view past a tree on a gravel levee road.

This unassuming photograph of a rural levee road, tree, and fog in California’s Central Valley encapsulates the feeling of winter in this place for me. If you know the area or one like it, perhaps you can fill in the sound of bird calls, feel the cool and damp air, remember the unhurried feeling of moving along such a road early in the morning. I go here to photograph birds, but always end up focusing on the landscape, too.

As lovely as this light is, it can be challenging to photograph. A motto for me when I work on prints is, “more light!” However, here I have to suppress that urge a bit since the fog diminishes the brightness. (Though the high clouds are so bright they are hard to look at.) Color can also be challenging, with a tricky balance between the inherent blue of the foggy light and the warmer colors of plants and (sometimes) the 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Foggy Wetlands Sunrise

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Foggy Wetlands Sunrise
“Foggy Wetlands Sunrise” — Winter sun rises above the distant Sierra Nevada and fog-shrouded Central Valley wetlands.

I made this photograph of a foggy wetlands sunrise during a late January visit to California’s Central Valley. The main draw was the prospect of photographing migratory birds, but I chose the day because of the tule fog. I love photographing in the Valley on winter tule fog days — the fog turns the agricultural landscape into something magical. I made all the photographs in the series over perhaps a one-hour span and within a half mile of each other.

The fog was so thick when I arrived before sunrise that it was too dark to photograph. I got my gear ready, finished my coffee, and then set off into the gloom to find good location to watch it begin to clear. It wasn’t long before I came to a spot where the fog was thinning. The timing was perfect as the sun was just rising above the distant Sierra Nevada, with colorful and diffused light above the ponds.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Levee Road and Tree

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Levee Road and Tree
“Levee Road and Tree” — A tree next to a foggy levee road under winter morning sky.

My plan was to photograph birds migratory birds on this foggy Central Valley morning. But the fog was so thick when I arrived that I couldn’t even seen the birds. And then, as the fog began to thin, the light was so beautiful — and the birds still so scarce — that I ended up mostly making landscape photographs. I made this one when the shallow fog had cleared enough to reveal the early morning sky, even though the fog bank still covered the landscape beyond the levee road and tree.

I visit this place often at this time of year — a rather nondescript part of the Central Valley. It isn’t just that it’s not the sort of place you would notice as you drove past — it is so far off the beaten track that the odds are you would never even go there. But after years of poking around here I have come to love the landscape, especially on foggy winter mornings like this.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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