Tag Archives: grove

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

Grove Above the Surf

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Grove Above the Surf
A small grove of old trees above the surf and silhouetted against the fog-muted shapes of coastal hills, Big Sur Coast.

Grove Above the Surf. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A small grove of old trees above the surf and silhouetted against the fog-muted shapes of coastal hills, Big Sur Coast.

This grove of trees sits on the edge of a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean along a popular section of the Big Sur Coast. In most cases, I have usually regarded it as a bit of an obstacle, as I have to sort of work around it to photograph certain features in the area. (In fact, I also sometimes have to “work around” a small herd of cattle that sometimes grazes in the foreground meadow!) On this visit I decided to turn the tables and make the trees the subject.

This was an interesting day, and photography was at times a bit challenging. I visited during a one-day break in the string of atmospheric river storms that hit California between late December and January, and I managed to squeeze in a single morning of photography here. Damage from the storms was easy to find, with landslides and road repairs along the way. But on this morning occasional sun broke through the high overcast and made the thin fog luminous.

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, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Fog, Trees, Meadow

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Fog, Trees, Meadow
Foggy hills, a grove of tall trees, and a meadow above the Big Sur coast.

Fog, Trees, Meadow. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Foggy hills, a grove of tall trees, and a meadow above the Big Sur coast.

During a break in California’s string of atmospheric river storms I managed to make a quick trip to the upper Big Sur coast this week. It is quite a scene there right now with numerous flooded areas, downed trees, washouts, slides, and closed roadways. This also means, of course, that the usual crowds are absent, so it was a fine time to go, even if some places I like to visit were off limits. (State parks were closed, and the lower half of the route was completely shut down.)

I stopped at this location, a spot where I have photographed for years, though this time I chose to make a photograph that focuses on something other than the obvious subject at this location. (That “obvious subject” may be just barely visible if you know where to look.) Often when I photograph in this spot I try to avoid including this lovely grove of big old trees and the meadow at its base, but they became the main subject in this photograph.

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 | Twitter | 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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Trees

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Winter Trees
“Winter Trees” — Bare winter trees silhouetted against a cloudy California Central Valley sky.

Over the past decade or so I have come to know these trees well. They are near a turn along a levee road that I often while photographing birds, and they never fail to catch my attention as I pass. In the fall they are still full of colorful leaves, but by January almost all of the leaves are gone. At any time of the year they are likely places to find birds, often hawks or even owls.

This visit was on New Year’s Day, when a group of photographers and friends assembled, as we do every year, to make pictures and celebrate the new year. That celebration made up for the less than ideal light — there were lots of thick clouds, since we were between storms. As I approached the trees this time, the clouds thinned a bit and created backlight that silhouetted the trunks and limbs of the trees.

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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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Trees, Levee Road

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Autumn Trees, Levee road
Trees with autumn leaves along a road winding along a levee in Central Valley wetlands.

Autumn Trees, Levee Road. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Trees with autumn leaves along a road winding along a levee in Central Valley wetlands.

It just occurred to me that this sequence of photographs roughly narrates the course of a typical day here at this time of year. The ideal day starts before sunrise in thick fog. Then the fog becomes lighter and takes on the colors of dawn if things work just right. Eventually the fog thins more and the light becomes brighter and more directional. Before too long the fog dissipates and I’m left with the winter atmospheric haze, which softens the landscape even as the colors intensify.

I was hours into photographing this location when I came to these trees. Although it was still cold, the sun was shining confidently through the midday haze. The atmosphere was still a bit soft, but the fall colors were stronger. I initially stopped to photograph a bird perched at the top of one of the trees, but soon the bird left and I went into landscape photography mode.

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 | Twitter | 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.