Tag Archives: fog

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Marin Hills Fog

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Marin Hills Fog
Pacific ocean fog drifts among forested ridges north of San Francisco.

Marin Hills Fog. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific ocean fog drifts among forested ridges north of San Francisco.

This is a reworking/rethinking of an older photograph from 2013. The previous interpretation was black and white — at that time I was shying away from cloudy, foggy images with a blue cast, but I’ve come to accept and like them now. (Going to black and white is often an attractive option when I can’t quite see how to make it work in color.) Somewhat unusual for me, I also may have darkened some elements of this version of the image. Perhaps a bit of darkness seems appropriate in this time of sheltering-in-place…

I made the photograph on a quick day trip across the Golden Gate Bridge and a ways north up the coast. My recollection is that I followed coastal roads up to about Stinson Beach, stopped there to grab a a bite, and then decided to take a hillier route back home. It reached a sufficient elevation to get me up onto the shoulder of a ridge where I was above the bank of fog extending back out over the Pacific Ocean.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tule Fog, Wetland Sunrise

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Tule Fog, Wetland Sunrise
The winter sun rises thorugh tule fog above Central Valley wetlands.

Tule Fog, Wetland Sunrise. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The winter sun rises thorugh tule fog above Central Valley wetlands.

This is my favorite season of the year for a whole bunch of reasons. It brings so many special opportunities here on the West Coast. The fall colors come to the Sierra and then work their way downward and westward over a period of up to three months — and sometimes even a bit longer. The hot, dry season of wildfires and haze comes to an end, replaced by cooler temperatures and much more interesting skies and light as Pacific weather fronts arrive. Migratory birds return to the Central Valley… and once again I get to photograph the tule fog!

This photograph comes from a beautiful tule fog morning in the Central Valley some years ago, a perfect morning when the fog was thick but not so thick as to completely obscure the rising sun, here silhouetting the wetland foliage and gently reflecting on the surface of a pond. What the photograph cannot convey — but what it certainly evokes for me — is the sound of many thousands of nearby geese, cranes, blackbirds, and more.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Flying Above the Flock

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Several Ross’s geese in flight above the flock on a foggy morning.

Flying Above the Flock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Several Ross’s geese in flight above the flock on a foggy morning.

This photograph looks both backwards and forwards. It is retrospective in the sense that it comes from a season that has already passed and from eight years ago. I don’t recall if I was in this place by myself or with friends — I think it was with friends — but I do recall a very, very foggy morning, with the Central Valley tule fog making it difficult to see any distance away. When I made the photograph it had cleared a little bit, but even very close birds were somewhat obscured. I caught this group as they circled around to land and join the flock.

The photograph looks ahead because the season when I photograph these birds is almost here. Some of them have already arrived in California’s Great Central Valley, though the larger groups won’t be here for a bit yet. But by the end of November I’ll be heading out there frequently, typically on a cold and foggy morning well before sunrise, to spend the day with thousands of them.

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, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Sur, Winter Light

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Point Sur, Winter Light
Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

Point Sur, Winter Light. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

This photograph is at the historic Point Sur, a rocky hill that would be a monumental sea stack if it were not still tenuously connected to the mainland by a low, sandy peninsula. (I’ve always wondered how often that peninsula has been overtopped by huge storm surf or perhaps an occasional tsunami.) The lighthouse at the upper left is part of a more extensive set of structures erected decades ago to support the isolated lighthouse keepers. Long ago it was considered to be so remote that it was resupplied by ships that arrived every few months, and the keepers and their families had to be essentially self-sufficient.

Point Sur has a tremendous physical presence along this section of the rugged coast. Before and after it the steep hills and cliffs are momentarily interrupted by low headlands, so it stands out against this flatter landscape.

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.

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