Tag Archives: fog

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Winter Haze and Trees, Central Valley

December 14, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Hazy California Central Valley light on groves of trees as tule fog clears

In early December, 2012 I had my third opportunity of the season to photograph winter migratory birds. (The first time was last month when I made a quick foray to nearby Central Valley refuges, the second was shortly after that when I found myself with a free day in the Seattle area and drove up to Skagit Valley to photograph trumpeter swans and snow geese.) This was an especially great trip since not only were there birds about (Ross’s geese, a few odd snow geese, white-faced ibises, sandhill cranes, white pelicans, a few egrets and a single great blue heron) but the conditions turned out to be good almost all day and I was joined by a band of great folks: Michael Frye and Claudia Welsh, Dave and Charlotte Hoffman, and my wife Patty Mitchell. And what a day it turned out to be!

Things did not begin so promisingly. As Patty and I drove over from the south San Francisco Bay Area there was a lot of fog and continued to thicken until shortly after leaving Los Banos behind, where we encountered the classic pea soup Central Valley tule fog. Although it was so shallow that we could look up and see pre-dawn Venus and the new moon, ahead it was so thick that the road was barely visible in front of us. It was still thick when we reached the refuge and met the rest of the gang, and on the first part of our drive around the refuge the fog was so thick that we could barely seen any birds, although we could hear them. (One of the most mysterious experiences was hearing sandhill cranes nearby and being able to tell that they were airborne and moving but not see them at all until they would momentarily and briefly partially emerge from the murk and then just as quickly disappear.) Finally, as we came around the far side of the refuge we found a very large group of Ross’s geese close to the dirt road, and from here on things only got better. We had hours of shooting in the fog, which only slowly diminished and didn’t thin out enough to let sun through until probably noon or so. But this was actually a Good Thing, as on a perfectly clear morning the sense of mystery that fog imparts would have been missing… and the shooting probably would have been over in an hour or two. Instead, we continued until it was after 1:30, at which point we finally broke away long enough for lunch before returning for an evening shoot. Again, conditions that started out looking unpromising – the clouds of an incoming weather front were beginning to block the sky to the west – turned out to be perfect and even exceptional as the geese continued their show and the sky lit up brilliantly right at sunset.

I suppose that this photograph proves that I’m still a landscape photographer at heart. While looking around the refuge for birds, my eyes kept moving to the groves of large cottonwood trees and the smaller individual trees, many of which still held a bit of fall color. I’m also a really big fan of misty, hazy atmosphere, and we had that in spades. The fog did lift, but it left behind a beautiful luminous atmosphere and could glow in the right light.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Two Islands, Fog

November 29, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

I made my first trip of the season to California’s Central Valley in late November, in search of migratory birds – geese, herons, egrets, and so forth. I look forward to this every fall, for the experience of seeing (and hearing!) the birds but also as an excuse to explore the landscape of this part of California and, especially, to do so in interesting and evocative weather conditions. And, yes, fog is among those conditions.

The tule fog is a frequent feature during the winter months in the Central Valley, sometimes sticking around for days on end. One can drive over the hills into the Valley in sunlight, only to see the blanket of fog on the Valley floor ahead, and once inside the fog there is little trace of that brilliant winter sunshine. (Except that this fog, being shallow, sometimes creates the very odd juxtaposition of very impaired visibility and diffused light so bright you can barely look into it. Sometimes you can look up through this fog and see the sky or the moon above.) On this trip, when I arrived at my destination the fog was so thick that bird photography was, to put it mildly, challenging. On my first loop around the dirt road I did go slowly and find a few birds that were close enough to the road to make photographs, but on my second pass I instead thought to focus on the fog-blanketed landscape itself.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Clearing Storm, Morning Light

November 18, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Fog clearing from a Zion Canyon cliff face. — “Clearing Storm, Morning Light” — Clearing storm clouds and morning light on sandstone towers, Zion National Park

We arrived in Zion the previous day, driving through rain across lower Utah and upper Arizona, stopping to photograph here and there, including rain-soaked upper elevation areas of Zion. We arose early to catch one of the first shuttles into the canyon. The morning began with sun coming through breaks in the clearing clouds from the previous day’s rain. In my view, clouds in Zion canyon are not usually all that conducive to photography, since I tend to rely on the diffused midday light coming from open sky to light my subjects, which are often found in the shade. Clouds produce too much shade and move the color balance away from the warm tones of daylight and toward the dark, blue tones.

On the other hand, I love sunlight broken and muted by clouds, especially those that move and are a bit transparent. I love shooting in Yosemite Valley when winter storms or fog are swirling around the walls and spires, alternately revealing and hiding bits of the landscape. As we rode the shuttle into Zion Canyon, with a vague plan of heading toward the middle or upper part of the canyon, I looked up to see that same sort of effect high on the cliffs along the west side of lower Zion Canyon – early morning sun was shining through breaks in clouds that swirled around the upper cliffs, alternately revealing and concealing their form. Plans change, and we hopped off the shuttle. I put the long lens on the camera and spent a few minutes exploring this subject.

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.

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

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

Sea Stacks and Coastal Bluffs, Northern California

October 13, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Haze obscures sea stacks and bluffs along the rugged Pacific Ocean coastline of Northern California.

I made this photograph almost a year ago, from just about the same location as a more recent photograph of this scene that I posted a month or so ago. The location is along the Mendocino County coastline of northern California, a rugged and beautiful section of the state. Here the coast highway travels very close to the water along high bluffs that overlook the Pacific, and this particular cove holds this two-peaked island or sea stack and is backed by receding coastal bluffs that extend out into the water. In the far distance the shoreline to the south curves gently back towards the west, creating a large and very shallow bay.

The personality of this land and seascape changes constantly. On a (rare) completely clear day, the view to the farther shoreline might be easier to make out, but on the many foggy days the foreground scene could well be completely obscured. On this morning, most of the fog had cleared back from the coast, leaving a softly hazy atmosphere that amplified the effects of distance, and the surf was creating low clouds of spray along the coastline.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: fog

Winter Haze and Trees, Central Valley

Two Islands, Fog

Sea Stacks and Coastal Bluffs, Northern California

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.