Tag Archives: colorful

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Sierra Silhouette, Wetlands Winter Sunrise

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Sierra Silhouette, Wetlands Winter Sunrise
“Sierra Silhouette, Wetlands Winter Sunrise” — Intensely colorful winter sunrise light above a Central Valley wetlands pond and the distant outline of the Sierra Nevada.

On a recent early morning visit to the Central Valley I was lucky to run into a couple of friends who were also there to see the wintry landscape and photograph migratory birds. We conversed casually during slow moments when we found ourselves in the same spots. One of them noted that a lot of my recent photographs have relied on pastels. True! I’ve been focusing those colors recently, and they are common in the winter landscape. This is not one of those photographs.

Indeed, these colors are almost lurid. I photographed just before the sun came up, when the pre-dawn light is at its most saturated. I used a long lens to focus on the brightly-lit clouds and their reflection, and to eliminate much of the surrounding darker landscape. Wild displays of color like this — and sky filled with migratory birds — are among the reasons that I’m willing to get up at “oh-dark-thirty” and drive for hours in the darkness.

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

Wetland Pond and Trees, Dawn

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Wetland Pond and Trees, Dawn
“Wetland Pond and Trees, Dawn” — A line of trees along a levee between wetland ponds silhouetted against winter Central Valley sunrise sky. with the Sierra Nevada in the distance.

I made this photograph in a quiet corner of a place where I often photograph in winter. Trees grow along a levee separating a small pond from a much larger body of water where migratory birds sometimes land. I had a brief window of sunrise light on this morning, as clouds from an arriving weather system moved overhead and on toward the east, darkening the sky except for a narrow strip above the distant Sierra Nevada.

I have photographed these trees before, though in quite different light. Birds often are found here, though not typically the larger geese and cranes. (By good luck, a line of geese passed along the trees as I made the exposure, but you might have to look for them.) More common birds are the various “little brown birds,” plus some raptors and the occasional owl.

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: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Curving Street, Lisbon

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Curving Street, Lisbon
“Curving Street, Lisbon” — A narrow road curves past colorful buildings, LIsbon.

This photograph comes from our longish walk across Lisbon to climb up toward the St. George Castle. If you walk in Lisbon, get used to hills! We walked down a pretty good one from our lodgings, and before long we climbed the large hill topped by the castle. We didn’t go into the castle grounds, since we had some other ideas in mind, so we were soon ascending and descending the steep hills again.

I loved this little narrow street. Just about every thing about it is charming, The route gently curves, and you walk along pavement embedded with interesting patterns and colors. The buildings themselves are painted in striking colors, too. And, of course, it is so narrow that it isn’t really suited to vehicles larger than scooters.

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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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Sky

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Autumn Sky
“Autumn Sky” — November morning sky and clouds above California’s Central Valley.

The pre-dawn light on this autumn morning in California’s Central Valley did not look all that promising. It was one of those, “OK, but nothing remarkable” days — lovely, but not with quite the magic I hoped for. As I recall, the earliest light of sunrise was muted by clouds to the east over the Sierra Nevada. But before long things began to improve, and I had a few moments of quite intense light shortly after sunrise.

This is an example of a phenomenon that I’ve learned to watch for. It is a circumstance that increases the potential for brilliant dawn or sunset color, though it is far from a guarantee. On a cloudy morning or evening when the cloud layer ends far to the east (at dawn) or west (at sunset), there is a chance that the sun will briefly shine under the clouds as it touches the horizon, lighting the clouds with intensely colorful light from underneath.

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.