Tag Archives: morning

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Laundry, Morning Sun

December 21, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light shines on a building wall with drying laundry, Radda, Italy

If my memory is correct, I made this photograph on just about our final morning in the Chianti region of Italy in the summer of 2016. We had spent a week with family at a place in the hills, exploring the vineyards and olive groves of the region, and visiting the hilltop village of Radda several times. (It was one of the nearest towns in this rural area.)

We visited again on this morning, arriving early enough that the narrow streets were not crowded, though vendors were starting to set up shop for the day. Because we were in no hurry, I took time to wander off from the main street and look around a few out-of-the-way spots, including this little street up near the highest point of the town, where buildings were packed tightly together. The brilliant summer light was just hitting the wall of this building.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Dancing Cranes, Fog

December 12, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two lesser sandhill cranes raise their wings to greet the dawn on a foggy morning

I arrived here, a location familiar to me, before dawn and in thickening fog. Although the place is familiar, each return brings the sudden shock of getting out of my vehicle after a long drive and hearing the wild sounds of thousands of migratory birds spread out across the acreage of this place. It is a sound like no other, especially in pre-dawn fog when the birds are not yet visible, and it always brings a smile to my face.

I headed toward an area where I anticipate finding several familiar kinds of birds: stilts in ponds next to the levee road, a rugged individualist egret or two (or perhaps a small group of cattle egrets), a pond surrounded by brush with roosting night herons (the pond was dry this time), geese almost anywhere, and off in the distance perhaps some cranes or white pelicans. The latter two kinds of birds were barely visible through the fog, but this pair was a bit closer. As the first very faint sunlight began to arrive they spread their wings and stretched.

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

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

Eastern Sierra From Afar

December 9, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The pre-dawn eastern Sierra Nevada viewed from an aspen-covered ridge far to the east

This may be the final photograph in this series. (But you never know!) On a mid-September day, when autumn aspen color was just beginning to show in the Sierra and the nearby ranges to the east, I arose early and headed off to a place that I had wondered about on an earlier visit. On that previous trip I had also done a bit of wandering out the east of the crest, by chance deciding to turn off of a paved road near the top of a pass, and then following gravel tracks out along a high ridge. I suspected there were aspens here, but I didn’t realize how many, and I made a mental note to come back here in the fall.

So this was my return. Arriving before sunrise I wasn’t quite sure what I would find. I knew there was a panoramic view back toward the eastern Sierra and I knew there were aspens. I also knew of a couple of likely place to stop. As I arrived near the location of the photograph it was still rather dark and very cold, so I went for something I knew and I looked for a very short spur road through the trees to a viewpoint I had visited earlier. I got out and set up camera gear in the pre-dawn cold — my first really cold morning of the season — and waited for light. As it arrived I could see that the color transition was much farther along than I expected, and I was able to frame a composition that included a few of the most colorful trees, the mountain of aspens beyond, the Sierra in the far distance, and the first pink light of the new day above.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Island, Fog

December 7, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of sandhill cranes stands on a small wetland island on a foggy morning

I love the Central Valley tule fog during this part of the year — perhaps not for driving, but when it comes to creating moody and interesting atmosphere, the fog produces. In fact, quite often I’ll check the weather forecast before heading that way during gate late-fall through early spring period, and if the weather looks too nice I won’t go. But if the weather calls for fog, I’m on my way! This visit started out to be an exception to that rule, since the weather forecast did not mention fog at all. But when I checked the current conditions before departing there was an indication that some fog had developed in a few areas.

My drive, 100 miles done entirely in pre-dawn darkness, did not suggest fog… until I left the final town before arriving at my slightly remote location. I immediately encountered a surprise fog bank, and it only got thicker as I turned off the main highway onto narrow country roads. I arrived at my destination in freezing temperatures and light fog which continued to thicken for the next hour. These lesser sandhill cranes were hanging out in a spot where I can reliably find them early in the morning, though they were a pretty good distance off across a network of wetland ponds. This group was assembled on a small island, and they must have been comfortable there, as they were the last group to finally take to the air and fly off.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: morning

Laundry, Morning Sun

Dancing Cranes, Fog

Eastern Sierra From Afar

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