Tag Archives: mist

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Trees, Fog, and Geese

January 4, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese fly through early morning fog and among trees in California’s Central Valley

A small group of us met before dawn on New Year’s Day, as we do each year, at a location in the California Central Valley, with the plan of welcoming the (literal!) dawn of the new year in the company of a few photographer friends and few tens of thousands of feathered friends.

It is typical for there to be tule fog in parts of the Central Valley on winter mornings, and we encountered some as we drove. However, we were surprised to find that it had pretty much cleared by the time we arrived, and we actually got to see the sun rise above a distant fog bank. But not long after this the fog began to move back in — first isolated pockets formed above creeks and ponds, and soon it began to collect in long streamers passing overhead. I bracketed a flock of Ross’s geese between a nearby solitary tree (with a couple of hawks that you may spot if you look closely) and a further line of cottonwoods as the fog began to thicken.

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

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

Autumn Rain, Yosemite Valley

November 8, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Autumn rain mutes the colors and details of Yosemite Valley and Bridal Veil Fall

Look! An icon! Yes, I do photograph them from time to time. I made this photograph at a pretty well-known and popular location. (A friend was once asked the best way to photograph this spot. His answer was, “Don’t.”) If you are in Yosemite Valley, and especially if you are traveling between the Valley and other locations, as I was during this visit, you are pretty much guaranteed to pass by here. I virtually always take a look. Sometimes I don’t stop. Sometimes I stop and leave the camera in the car and just wander a bit. Sometimes I spot friends there and I stop to talk. Occasionally something special happens — a more frequent occurrence this time of year — and I stop and make some photographs!

Coming down the hill on Highway 41 I had stopped above the tunnel and another turnout with a great view up the Valley, and from there I had seen some interesting fog and clouds beginning to assemble. So I headed on down through the tunnel and decided to stop and look around. At first I almost wasn’t going to photograph, but I figured I was there so what the heck! As I assembled my gear it began to rain lightly and the beautiful veil of the rain began to make the atmosphere slightly opaque and soften the scene.

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

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

Clearing Autumn Storm, Cliffs, Evening

November 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Storm clouds clear from cliffs above Yosemite Valley

No doubt I have mentioned, likely quite a few times, that I love the fall through early spring season in Yosemite Valley — for many reasons but the clouds are at the top of my list. During the cooler season lots of interesting things happen in the atmosphere of and above the Valley, from morning mists in the meadows to the clouds of dissipating storms clinging to the upper slopes. Although this wasn’t the first “weather” of the season in the Valley, it was my first time this fall to be there for the show.

On the day I arrived there was quite a bit of rain, which soon began to pass, leaving behind beautiful light and fog and those thinning clouds. I arrived in the Valley in the afternoon and began following the light, and near sunset I ended up in a meadow with a clear view of an interesting section of the higher valley walls, where the cloud and light show was just beginning. I put a long lens on the camera and began to watch spires and trees appear and disappear as the clouds moved past. The action was continuous and I photographed almost without break as the light took on the warmer tones of evening, making this photograph shortly before the sun dropped behind mountains to the west and shadows replaced the light.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Two Small Trees, Autumn Fog

October 31, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A few autumn maple trees are scattered in a Yosemite National Park forest on a foggy morning

I admit it. I got distracted. This past week I had reason to visit Oakhurst, California, just below the southern boundary of Yosemite National Park. I drove up there in tremendous rain, had my meeting, and then headed to The Valley for a few hours of photography. As I drove up from Oakhurst the forest was wet and fog was everywhere — perhaps the ideal conditions for all color — but I kept driving, wanting to get to the Valley before the light was gone. At one spot inside the park I caught a glimpse of a bright yellow big leaf maple tree in a small gully leading away from the road, but I did not stop.

I was back in Oakhurst that night, and then up very early the next morning with a plan to arrive in the Valley again by daybreak. I headed up from town again, but once again there was fog, though less of it. Three things I cannot resist are autumn color, fog, and forests — so when I passed this spot again I quickly decided to turn around and come back to make some photographs. This is a complex photograph, the opposite of the minimalist images I like to produce (see some recent Mono Lake photographs for examples), but that is the nature of forest scenes like this — they are an utterly harmonious whole created out of a very complex set of components. And, even better, they are mysterious and quiet and still.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: mist

Trees, Fog, and Geese

Autumn Rain, Yosemite Valley

Clearing Autumn Storm, Cliffs, Evening

Two Small Trees, Autumn Fog

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