Tag Archives: levee

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Levee Road, Tule Fog

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Levee Road, Tule Fog
“Levee Road, Tule Fog” — Tule fog shrouds the winter landscape along a California Central Valley levee road.

A couple of weeks ago I made my way out to California’s Central Valley for what I hoped would be a day of bird photography augmented by landscape work. My favorite days at this time of year begin with tule fog that clears before noon. There is wonderful transitional light as the conditions change, and once the fog lifts there are usually opportunities for bird photography. Well, I got the fog I came for… and it never left! (The birds? Not so much.)

This spot along a levee road skirting wetland ponds is very familiar to me. I photograph here all the time, and I’ve photographed literally this same scene often — at dawn, in fog, late in the day, after dusk. It includes several elements I associate with this place: skeletal winter trees, new growth after winter rains, and the landscape fading into the distance under the fog.

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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: Nature

Levee Road, Winter

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Photo: gravel road along a levee in California's Central Valley.
“Levee Road, Winter” — A gravel levee road winds through California Central Valley wetlands.

Driving through California’s Great Central Valley, you might think that the place consists of freeways, scattered towns, and distant views. These are port of the experience, but if you get off of the Interstates and poke around in more rural areas you find a very different world. Here we were following a gravel road along a flood control levee on on an early-winter morning.

Roads like this are all over the Central Valley. In the wetter areas they follow levees, but elsewhere they might track along property lines. When I made the photograph a weather front was passing nearby, and the sky was full of impressive clouds.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Levee Road, Clearing Fog

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“Levee Road, Clearing Fog” — Morning tule fog clears and the sun comes out along a Central Valley levee road.

Every New Year’s Day a group of us gather to greet the literal dawn of the new year and make photographs. This year Patty and I turned it into a three-day event, arriving on New Year’s Eve and hanging around through the morning of January 2. This isn’t your typical place to celebrate New Year’s Day — it is a quiet, isolated place in portions of of California that is likely not on most peoples’ maps. But there is beautiful light, quiet, and frequently the sun rising through tule fog.

It was quite foggy when we arrived before dawn on this morning, but not the incredibly thick fog that makes travel dangerous. In fact, the layer of tule fog was shallow enough that we could see the pre-dawn sky overhead. The fog began to thin soon after sunrise, and here along the levee road the intense color of early morning light was winning the battle with the remaining fog.

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

Levee Road, Trees, Fog

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Levee Road, Trees, Fog
“Levee Road, Trees, Fog” — Morning tule fog clears beyond a pair of Central Valley trees next to a levee road.

I love tule fog and the mysterious atmosphere it creates. But even more, I love what happens as it clears. Out here in the Central Valley the fog often seems to drift and thin unevenly. It moves away in one place to reveal a hazy landscape, but nearby the fog lingers and blocks longer views. Visible overhead through the shallow layer is combination of blue morning sky, high clouds, and sometimes soft remnants of the dissipating fog.

This scene is along a levee road, one of a seemingly infinite number of similar roads out in the wet parts of the valley. Many Californians, including me, tend to think of the summertime Central Valley, a place that is known for heat and dryness. But in the winter it can be the opposite, a cold and damp place, often dotted by seasonal ponds and lakes.

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.

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