Tag Archives: cold

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tule Marsh, Fog

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Tule Marsh, Fog
A Central Valley tule marsh on a foggy winter day.

Tule Marsh, Fog. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

A Central Valley tule marsh on a foggy winter day.

My winter exploits photographing migratory birds often place me in beautiful landscape under spectacular skies and in the presence of remarkable flocks of thousands of geese and cranes. But that does not capture the totality of this experience. (News flash: the photographs we share most likely focus on best moments rather than typical moments.) On a cold, foggy Central Valley morning things can be gray and still, though it is rare that the sound of birds isn’t part of the experience.

I have an extensive background in music, and this has taught me something that can be missing from photography at times, namely that there are many kinds of beauty, and that not all of them yell at us for attention. Some are quiet and some, at least at first, may not even seem beautiful at all. I won’t try to explain what I find in this photographs — you’ll just have to trust me that it is there.

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

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman in Crosswalk

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Woman in Crosswalk
A woman with a walker sets out to cross Broadway in Manhattan.

Woman in Crosswalk. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman with a walker sets out to cross Broadway in Manhattan.

After not going to New York City for two years during the pandemic, we had made plans to visit once again during the holidays. It seemed safe enough when we made the plans a few months ago, but as the departure date approached the Omicron virus took off and created a worrying spike in infections. We contemplated cancelling the trip, but in the end we decided to go and take exceptional precautions. This was not the sort of New York visit we would normally do. We like to travel around on the subway, cram into crowded restaurants, visit museums, go to concerts… none of which we did on this trip. We masked up consistently, tested daily, and limited ourselves to visits with our “kids” and their spouses.

All of this was not conducive to New York street photography, but I did manage to get out a couple of times with a camera. The city was strange, with everyone wearing masks, most dining done outdoors, and nearly deserted streets. I photographed this woman as she was about to head across Broadway on the Upper West Side.

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 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.

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

Winter Mist, Tomales Bay

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Winter Mist, Tomales Bay
Morning mist rises above Tomales Bay on a cold winter morning.

Winter Mist, Tomales Bay. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning mist rises above Tomales Bay on a cold winter morning.

One advantage of living near iconic locations (in this case, the Point Reyes National Seashore) is that I can go there on short notice at times when few other visitors are around. Being only a short distance north of San Francisco and less than an hour’s drive from some populated areas of the greater Bay Area, a visit here on a summer weekend can be considerably less than a solitary experience. But on a freezing cold (literally!) late-winter weekday morning you might find yourself all alone in such a place.

I have passed by this spot many times, and this was not the first time I stopped to make photographs here. (Nearby and just out of sight are a couple of iconic regional photographic subjects.) On this morning it was the light that stopped me, along with the new grass on the coastal hills along the far shore. (Winter is our green season in much of California.) As I worked, the thin morning fog above the waters of Tomales Bay drifted slowly, backlit by the low-angle morning 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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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.

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

Autumn Weeds

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Autumn Weeds
Colorful autumn weeds with morning frost, Central Valley.

Autumn Weeds. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful autumn weeds with morning frost, Central Valley.

Yes, weeds. I had spent a few hours photographing more exalted subjects — migratory birds, foggy sunrise skies, big vistas, fall colors. Eventually it was time for a break, so I pulled into a parking area, poured a cup of coffee from my thermos and grabbed a snack. It was a very cold morning, so I stood along the sunny side of my vehicle, enjoying the slight warmth of the morning sun. And at my feet, right there in the parking lot, next to a fence, I saw some colorful, frost-rimmed… weeds.

As you would expect, I put down the coffee, grabbed a camera, and set about photographing the… weeds. I’m often reminded of something that another photographer once wrote: “There’s always something to see!” Those words, which seem pretty banal when considered from a non-photographic perspective, turn out to be pretty important. No matter where you are, there is, indeed, virtually always “something to see.”

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.