Tag Archives: merced

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Wetlands

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Autumn Wetlands
Late-autumn colors in California Central Valley wetlands.

Autumn Wetlands. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late-autumn colors in California Central Valley wetlands.

As I continue my pandemic project of reviewing years of raw files — and discovering and rediscovering all sorts of interesting things — I have now arrived at the very end of 2012. I’m currently working on the final week or so of autumn and about to move into winter and then on to 2013. One silver lining behind the dark coronavirus cloud is that I have had the time and inclination to revisit these old images and relive some of the experiences I had as I made them.

Every fall migratory birds return to overwinter in California’s Central Valley. Starting in about November I turn my attention that way and start to anticipate visits to this landscape — one that I don’t tend to photograph during the warmer months of the year. But in the cooler and wetter seasons, when the birds can be abundant, this part of California calls to me. I made this photograph on a cold and foggy late-autumn morning as the tule fog was beginning to thin, casting soft light on the autumn foliage of the scattered trees.

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: Abstract, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Reflections, Merced River

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Autumn Reflections, Merced River
Autumn reflections in the surface of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley.

Autumn Reflections, Merced River. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn reflections in the surface of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley.

Some years back, as is my annual tradition, I was in Yosemite Valley in autumn to photograph fall color and other aspects of the seasonal change. To be honest, I mostly avoid the Valley during the summer time. It is a spectacular place any time of year, but I’ll happily avoid the oppressive crowds and overly-hot weather and visit during the other three seasons.

I distinctly recall the circumstances of this photograph. It was morning, and there had been some light early snow. The sun was coming out in the morning, the temperature warmed, and the melting snow was dropping from every tree. As I walked across a bridge on my way to a different subject I happened to look down and see the patterns created as the droplets fell into the Merced River, creating expanding and overlapping rings. I was entranced. I stopped and set up, forgetting about my original goal, and focused on this subject instead.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Dusk Sky

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Geese, Dusk Sky
A group of geese departs into winter dusk sky above California’s Central Valley.

Geese, Dusk Sky. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of geese departs into winter dusk sky above California’s Central Valley.

The endings of these winter days out in the wetlands photographing birds and Central Valley landscapes can be as magical as their beginnings. The ideal morning begins with thick fog that gradually thins as the sun rises, and there is an excitement about the possibilities of the day ahead. The ideal evening extends until it is almost too dark to see, and hopefully features beautiful twilight color and, with luck, a few last opportunities to photograph birds. It is a time of winding down, of quiet, and perhaps some contemplation or a few final moments with friends before heading home.

On this evening we had very intense sky color to the west, most likely on a day when the air never did completely clear. We kept photographing as the sun set, and as it got darker I continued to make a few final photographs. A small group of geese lifted off from a nearby pond in the cold evening air, flying away against a backdrop of trees, hills, and twilight 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 and Amazon.

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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: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Sunset Perch

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Sunset Perch
A bird perches atop a snag at winter sunset in wetlands.

Sunset Perch. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bird perches atop a snag at winter sunset in wetlands.

Ah, to be in a place like this on a morning like this one right now! Unfortunately, that is not to be — and not just because long distance travel is still out of the question except in essential situations, but because it is no longer winter! I made the photograph on an early January day spent out in California’s Great Central Valley, searching after bird and landscape subjects. Now that I think of it, one might even say that this bird is… social distancing! Though, to be more accurate, it is other birds and smaller critters that are distancing from this hunter.

Doing photography — at least the kinds that I do — is a challenging proposition in the current situation. I do get out to walk in our urban/suburban neighborhood, and I carry a camera with me when I go. But I prefer to do my urban photography in busier and perhaps ab it grittier locations. For now, virtually all of my landscape subjects are off-limits, as they require travel over distances that are beyond what seems responsible right now. In the meantime, it turns out that among the tens of thousands of images in my raw file archive there are quite a few that seem worth revisiting!

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.