Tag Archives: mnwr

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

Wetlands, Autumn Tree

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An isolated tree with autumn foliage and a foggy wetland morning

Wetlands, Autumn Tree. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An isolated tree with autumn foliage and a foggy wetland morning.

This colorful tree illustrates something I learned about California (and western states) fall color some years ago — namely that it lasts a lot longer than you might think! I can often spot a few first hints of autumn color in the Sierra Nevada high country as early as late August, when corn lily plants start to go dormant and turn yellow and then brown. Soon after that some meadows begin to turn red as bilberry changes colors and a few yellow aspen leaves turn up here and there. By late September there is plenty of color in the highest elevation areas, and it works its way down to the road-served front country by or before the start of October. The color continues to descend to valleys at the base of the eastern Sierra throughout October, and by the start of November there is a lot of color in the western Sierra foothills. This color spreads throughout the state’s lowlands through November and right on into December. A month ago, close to Christmas, I saw beautiful cottonwood color along a Southern California river.

I photographed this wetland tree (though there may be more than one on the small island) a few days into December, on a morning that was technically late-autumn but which felt more like winter. It had been foggy at sunrise, but as the morning wore on and the sun rose higher the fog began to thin. This soft light highlighted the yellow and folder colors of this quintessential California scene.

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: Wildlife

White Pelicans, Clouds

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White Pelicans, Clouds
Four white pelicans in a cloud-filled California late-autumn sky

White Pelicans, Clouds. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four white pelicans in a cloud-filled California late-autumn sky.

My timing was fortuitous on this morning. The white pelicans usually congrats in groups that appear to contain a few dozen individuals. The often stay more or less in one place for long periods of time, but eventually they decide to move. They take off in long strings of individuals, generally flying past not too far off the ground. This happens suddenly, and if I’m not in the right spot, rather than being close enough to photograph them I watch the brief spectacle from a distance. On this day I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.

I think of the white pelicans as being special. Perhaps most people wouldn’t, being mostly familiar with white versions of the bird. But I had a long acquaintance with the coastal brown pelicans before I ever realized that the white version was found locally. I’m sure they were around, but someone I didn’t notice — today I see them in quiet coastal waters, in inland ponds, and more. But even today, the coastal birds seem familiar and conventional to me, while these white birds still seem a bit exotic.

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.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Pond And Early Morning Autumn Sky

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Pond And Early Morning Autumn Sky
A marshland pond reflects cloudy early morning autumn sky

Pond And Early Morning Autumn Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A marshland pond reflects cloudy early morning autumn sky.

I regard this as a sort of “almost winter” landscape, since I made the photograph in mid-December, about a week before the winter solstice. By this time of year California is solidly into the wet-season regime — the polar opposite of the state’s summer. Pacific weather fronts from the Gulf of Alaska sweep across the state periodically, and when the weather behaves somewhat normally the states wetland areas come back to life. And, yes, by California it is definitely the “cold season” by mid-September!

Scenes similar to this one may be found all over the state. All you need is a source of water and some expanse of relatively flat terrain where the water can pool. This one is located in an agricultural plain in the central part of the state, but I’ve seen similar pools across the entire state from south to north and east to west. You can even find them at times in the desert areas. This morning brought skies filled with clouds portending the arrival of one of those winter weather systems. After an initial burst of sunrise light the sun moved behind clouds and the colors softened. I photographed past some remnant shallow water plants, now gone to winter brown, and toward the early morning sky to the north.

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.

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

Photographs: Nature

Winter Sky, California

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Winter Sky, California
Winter evening sky above the San Joaquin Valley, California

Winter Sky, California. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter evening sky above the San Joaquin Valley, California

Photographers sometimes have a complicated relationship with sky. On one hand, quite a few of us tend to minimize its presence in photographs, especially when the sky isn’t special. The sort of blue sky day that seems beautiful to non-photographers (and beautiful to photographers when not making photographs!) often produces a plain blue expanse that can seem empty in a photograph. (Not always. It is also possible to use this in some cases, for example to suggest grand space and distance.) Among my photographer friends, quite a few work to minimize the presence of such skies or even eliminate it entirely — to the point that this can become an inside joke. I’ve heard people refer to certain photographs by one friend as “an extremely rare [insert photographer name] photograph of the sky.”

But sometimes the sky begs to be included, and on occasion it can be the main subject. To generalize, the most interesting skies often come in fall, winter, and perhaps spring in California, when much of the state gets its most interesting weather. (There are opportunities in summer, to — how about a clearing thunderstorm?) I made this sky photograph while I was busy photographing another subject. During a slow moment I looked away from that “other thing” and saw these clouds. I pivoted and made a few exposures, just as the last sunset light was illuminating the undersides of the clouds and already beginning to fade from the highest clouds against the darkest 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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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