Tag Archives: evening

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Temblor Range HIlls, Spring Evening

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Temblor Range HIlls, Spring Evening
A fence cuts across wildflower-covered Temblor Range hills on a spring evening.

Temblor Range HIlls, Spring Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fence cuts across wildflower-covered Temblor Range hills on a spring evening.

This spring hillside was in early evening sun when I arrived, and as I set up to photograph the green folds and brightly colored wildflowers, the line between sunset light and shadow worked its way up the hillside. I looked around for a composition and thought that the old fence might tie things together.

At about this time each year, depending upon how wet the winter was, the California hills undergo a sudden and relatively brief transformation. First, winter rains cause last year’s seeds to come to life and send up carpets of new, green growth. Then, as the green phase approaches its conclusion, wildflowers show up. In a few places like this one, in an especially good year, entire mountains erupt in brilliant color.

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: Nature

Sunset Rain, California Valley

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Sunset Rain, California Valley
Spring rain dissipates over mountains near California Valley at sunset.

Sunset Rain, California Valley. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring rain dissipates over mountains near California Valley at sunset.

Early spring (and sometimes the tail end of winter)offers some of the most interesting weather in California. Summers tend to be somewhat bland from a photographic perspective, at least in places where nearly endless blue sky days are the norm. Winter storms are powerful, but follow a predictable path for the most part. But as we transition from the wet season to the dry one we have an increased chance of experiencing hail, sudden downpours, rainbows, lightning and thunder, and rapid transitions between clouds and sun, all playing out over the green spring landscape.

A year ago I was at an area of inland hills where wildflowers can bloom in extraordinary ways when the conditions are just right. It was a day featuring that dynamic, changing weather. In the evening I went to a spot where a valley began to ascend toward hills, from which I could see across the valley toward distant hills. As the sun appeared under the clouds to the west near sunset, the golden light illuminated sheets of rain falling over the mountains.

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.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

At The Edge Of The Dunes, EVening

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At The Edge Of The Dunes, Evening
Evening light on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

At The Edge Of The Dunes, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Much of Death Valley consists of landscape laid bare, with the earth itself exposed in ways that aren’t seen in other landscapes where forests and meadows dominate. Even the places where sagebrush and similar desert plants grow are only thinly covered, and other than a short period each year these plants have the same colors as the earth.

At first this can seem, well, barren. But after you make a few adjustments this sort of landscape presents remarkable opportunities. Of course, this landscape turns out to be less barren than you first thought. Perhaps a single bush can be more remarkable when it stands alone. But even more important, the quality and color of light become more evident as it works its magic on this ostensibly barren place.

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.

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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: Sierra Nevada

Peaks And Sunset Clouds

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Peaks And Sunset Clouds
Colorful sunset clouds above the crest of the Sierra Nevada

Peaks And Sunset Clouds. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful sunset clouds above the crest of the Sierra Nevada.

The High Sierra can be a place of remarkable and striking light… but more often the conditions revolve around successive days of perfectly blue, cloud-free skies. That is probably among the reason the place is called the “range of light,” but it also can be challenging for photographers hoping for special, unusual, and striking conditions. Yes, we complain about “perfect, blue-sky conditions!

But eventually, even in this gentle range, the conditions do change. Most often in the summertime Sierra the change comes from periodic intrusions of monsoonal moisture that bring a few days of thunderstorms. On our recent trip we got a bit of that on our hike in… and then, a week later, on our hike out. For the rest of our stay was almost under those “perfect” conditions… except for our last evening, when the Sierra presented us with these beautiful sunset clouds, producing a beautiful luminous benediction to our visit.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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.