Tag Archives: ducks

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Marsh and Fog, Sunrise

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Marsh and Fog, Sunrise, Central Valley, California
“Marsh and Fog, Sunrise” — Fog envelopes a wetlands marsh at sunrise.

This was a morning of utmost stillness and quiet. We worked our way around the perimeter of a wetlands landscape filled with ponds. Geese and sandhill cranes were beginning to stir in the first light. There was thick tule fog before dawn, and it started to thin as the sky began to lighten as the sun rose.

These wetlands marshes can be a welcome antidote to the stresses of our current world. (No, I don’t believe in ignoring the causes of that stress, just in trying to find balance.) Here things move so slowly that sometimes they barely appear to change at all. In this scene a few ducks paddled by slowly, and tiny ripples appeared in the water, while fog moved almost imperceptibly.

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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

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Islands, Clearing Fog

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“Islands, Clearing Fog” — Morning sun on reed-covered islands and wetland pond.

Sometimes landscape photography is slow and contemplative — the landscape stands almost still and there is time to pause and consider. But sometimes the landscape changes as quickly as any other subject, and transient conditions only last a moment. This was one of the latter moments. Thick tule fog had blanketed my position, but it quickly cleared above this pond, and brilliant light struck the little grass-covered islands.

Fog can fundamentally alter a landscape. Sometimes it simply mutes more distant subjects and allows foreground elements to stand out. It can also lend a sense of quiet mystery to otherwise mundane scenes. It may just sit there, changing little for long periods of time. And then, suddenly, the sunlight begins to break through and all kinds of beautiful effects of light may appear.

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

Wetlands Pond, Morning Light

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“Wetlands Pond, Morning Light” — Morning sun on a wetlands pond as winter tule fog clears.

The experience of photographing these Central Valley winter landscapes is full of magical instants — combinations of scene, atmosphere, and light that appear and disappear so quickly that they are easily missed. In one direction thick fog might obliterate the view, while in another direction the sunlight may be emerging and bathing the scene in warm light. This was one of those moments — a distant fog bank almost obscures trees, while the reed-covered islands are bathed in direct morning sunlight.

From what I hear, the residents of California’s Great Central Valley are not exactly thrilled by tule fog. When the conditions are right it can last for days or even weeks, holding temperatures to the 30s and 40s and remaining gray and damp. But I love those conditions for photography, and a forecast of fog is often enough to persuade me to drive four hours round-trip to be 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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | BlueSky | Email

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

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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.

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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