Tag Archives: clouds

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

Autumn Foliage, Wetlands

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Autumn Foliage, Wetlands
Autumn foliage and a reflecting pond under late Autumn skies

Autumn Foliage, Wetlands. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn foliage and a reflecting pond under late Autumn skies

Fall color varies a great deal from location to location. My East Coast friends remind  me that I haven’t seen anything quite like the forest-wide flood of color that happens there every fall — and they are probably right. (I still need to go to New England and photograph fall color. Too many subjects, too little time! ;-) On the other hand, we West Coast dwellers have a few special opportunities of our own, at least if we have learned where to look for them. One of these opportunities comes from the extraordinarily long color season.

I usually see my first indications of “fall” color in the Sierra as early as late-August. The first hints are subtle, but by halfway into September they are becoming pretty obvious, with the first aspens changing colors, and by early October the show in the Eastern Sierra is quite amazing. Because of the elevation range and north/south extent of the Sierra, the color lasts a long time — higher and more northerly color may come first, while lower elevation color may still be appearing over a month later. Once the aspens are done, the cottonwoods and other lower-elevation trees come into form. At the western Sierra foothill elevations the color can peak close to the beginning of November, and out in the Great Valley and closer to the coast there can still be excellent color in December! That’s when I photographed this group of trees, reflected in a pond and underneath autumn clouds… and at the peak of their seasonal color transformation.

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: England, Photographs: People, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

At the MillenNium Bridge

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At the Millennium Bridge
People, clouds, and sky, London

At the Millennium Bridge. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People, clouds, and sky, London

We have been to London a few times in recent years, and our latest visit was this past summer, when we spent just a few days there near the start of our long travels through portions of Northern Europe. We “staged” our transit, starting with a three-hour time change and a few days in New York, followed by the six-hour time change between there and London, and then a few days to adapt in London before heading on to the next place.

The visit was short, so we didn’t schedule a lot of specific events, aside from one of the “Proms” concerts. This left us with time to wander. As always happens at some point, we ended up crossing this bridge. On the south side, near the Tate Modern, the bridge sort of splits into two halves, with a descending ramp heading back between the two sections as it drops toward the walkway along the River Thames. On an early visit I become intrigued with this as a spot to photograph the bridge, the city, and the people passing by. As we dropped down that center ramp I looked up and saw this fellow “posing” against a striking 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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Headlands And Mist

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Headlands And Mist
Strong late-autumn surf raises clouds of mist above rocky headlands along the Big Sur coast.

Headlands and Mist. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Strong late-autumn surf raises clouds of mist above rocky headlands along the Big Sur coast.

Today I continue with photographs from my visit to the upper Big Sur coastline in the middle of December, on a day when distant Gulf of Alaska weather fronts were sending giant surf crashing against the beaches, sea stacks, and cliffs. This is perhaps my favorite set of conditions for California coastal photography — a clear, post-storm day with giant surf that raises a layer of mist along the shoreline. When I see reports of such conditions I try my best to get over there quickly!

On the drive down, even as I passed Monterey Bay I could see the effects on the water. Waves in the bay didn’t seem unusually large, but off in the distance I could see the land at the northwest end of the Monterey Peninsula where gigantic white breakers created a line against the horizon. Once I got south of Carmel and right next to the coast the picture was even clearer, and I soon stopped on a bluff to get “up close and personal” (but from a safe spot) with the show. I made this photograph a bit further south in a spot that I’ve photographed many times. Here there is a view across several rocky ribs at the water’s edge and on to a taller hill beyond — and I know this as a spot with great potential for surf and light and for raising clouds of spray and mist.

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

Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coast

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Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coast
A rugged landscape of coastal sea stacks along the Big Sur coast

Sea Stacks, Big Sur Coast. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A rugged landscape of coastal sea stacks along the Big Sur coast

This photograph comes from an early November transition season day along the Big Sur coast of California when I took a morning and half of the afternoon to drive down and make some photographs. The conditions here can vary widely on a seasonal and daily weather basis. Many summer days start with thick coastal fog, but it can also be crystal clear and even warm. Pacific storm fronts pass through during the winter, bringing rain, spectacular post front clouds, and then an atmosphere cleared of haze.

On this day the sun was trying to take command, but there was a lot of coastal fog haze in the air, and the fog banks were stubbornly persisting over the coastal hills in places. There was enough surf to throw up some additional moisture into the atmosphere right along the shoreline. Here I photographed across a near seascape filled with rocky bluffs and sea stacks, looking toward a more distant shoreline partially obscured by fog and haze.

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