Tag Archives: fog

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky

Reflection, Winter Sky

Image Leave a comment
Reflection, Winter Sky
“Reflection, Winter Sky” — Winter morning sky reflected on the surface of a foggy wetland pond, California Central Valley.

Part of what I like about this photograph of the reflection of winter sky in a wetland pond is that there is almost nothing solid in it — aside from some scattered plants in the pond it is entirely sky, clouds, water, and reflections. There is almost a horizon out there somewhere, but it is hard to detect since it is obscured by tule fog.

Although there’s little in the photograph to rule out other options, the location happens to be in Central Valley wetlands. In good years, rainfall fills these ponds in the winter through early spring, and areas of solid summer ground become lakes, some quite large. They are more than a visual marvel — winter birds and, later, spring plants rely on their annual formation.

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.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Grasslands, Winter Morning

Image Leave a comment
Grasslands, Winter Morning
“Grasslands, Winter Morning” — A foggy winter morning in a region of grasslands and vernal pools in California’s Central Valley.

One of my favorite John Muir stories concerns how he first traveled to the Sierra. He Walked! From the Bay Area! From what I recall he went via Pacheco Pass (today’s state route 152) before entering the Great Central Valley. I often take this route when heading east, so I’m frequently reminded of his journey. Concerning his arrival in the Valley he wrote,” “At my feet lay the Great Central Valley of California, level and flowery, like a lake of pure sunshine, forty or fifty miles wide, five hundred miles long, one rich furred garden of yellow Compositae.”

It is difficult to imagine what he experienced at a time when the Valley was a quiet, largely unpopulated place. Today it focuses on agriculture and business and the rapidly increasing populations in towns and cities along highways 99 and 5. But occasionally, in the right places, you can sometimes find yourself where it is possible to imagine an immense, still, quiet landscape in that valley.

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.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Levee Road, Tree, and Fog

Image Leave a comment
Levee Road, Tree, and Fog
“Levee Road, Tree, and Fog” — Thick morning tule fog obscures the view past a tree on a gravel levee road.

This unassuming photograph of a rural levee road, tree, and fog in California’s Central Valley encapsulates the feeling of winter in this place for me. If you know the area or one like it, perhaps you can fill in the sound of bird calls, feel the cool and damp air, remember the unhurried feeling of moving along such a road early in the morning. I go here to photograph birds, but always end up focusing on the landscape, too.

As lovely as this light is, it can be challenging to photograph. A motto for me when I work on prints is, “more light!” However, here I have to suppress that urge a bit since the fog diminishes the brightness. (Though the high clouds are so bright they are hard to look at.) Color can also be challenging, with a tricky balance between the inherent blue of the foggy light and the warmer colors of plants and (sometimes) the 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, 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.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands, Dawn Fog

Image Leave a comment
Wetlands, Dawn Fog
“Wetlands, Dawn Fog” — Dawn fog obscures the view of a wetlands pond in California’s Central Valley.

Have I mentioned how much I like photographing fog? Why, yes, I have! Fog can make almost any subject mysterious and moody. Even a banal urban or natural scene can become magical under its influence. This is especially true in places like this, an agricultural landscape that otherwise includes utilitarian elements — cattle barns, power lines, buildings with lights, roads. But fog mutes those distractions and leaves us with just atmosphere, light, color, and bits of solid reality. The landscape becomes less literal, and we fill in our own stories.

It was initially too foggy (and too dark!) to photograph here, so I just headed out to potential locations and watched to see what would happen. Tule fog is often shallow, and I could see high clouds as the sunrise colors suffused the fog as it began to thin. The density of fog adds up across distance, and here makes it impossible to tell where the land and water end and the sky begins.

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.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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