Tag Archives: morning

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky, Photographs: Wildlife

Winter Geese, Morning Fog

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Winter Geese, Morning Fog
“Winter Geese, Morning Fog” — Winter geese fly above foggy wetlands in morning light.

This was not the photograph I planned to make when I stopped here. The area was blanketed with tule fog, and no birds were visible. So I got out my tripod and turned my attention to making landscape photographs. As I worked the fog began to thin, and the sky above became faintly visible though the shallow fog. I heard geese approaching, and as the first group passed I grabbed my camera off the tripod, quickly reset things for handheld photography, and framed this subject as the next large group passed overhead.

There is a lot of this “gear switching” when I photograph migratory birds. One moment I might be photographing an individual bird in flight — which requires some specific camera settings. A moment later my attention may turn to a tree or clouds or the sky, and that sort of landscape photography uses entirely different settings and sometimes different lenses… or even a different camera!

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

Tule Fog and Reflection

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Tule Fog and Reflection
“Tule Fog and Reflection” — Morning sunlight reflects on the surface of a wetland pond covered by winter tule fog.

After starting the morning in fog so thick that I could not see (or photograph), I stopped here along a levee road as the fog began to thin. I still couldn’t see much more than perhaps fifty yards along the ground, but the tule fog was shallow enough that light penetrated it and I could see the sky. As the sun rose above the Sierra it broke free of clouds and its light reflected on the surface of this pond.

Color in foggy conditions is a tricky thing. Looking into the foggy void, everything seems essentially gray. But the atmosphere picks up all sorts of colorations — the warm tones of sunrise light, the blue of the sky, and sometimes combinations of these things. Here the light took on a slightly pink quality that didn’t completely wash out the blue from the 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky

Reflection, Winter Sky

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Reflection, Winter Sky
“Reflection, Winter Sky” — Winter morning sky reflected on the surface of a foggy wetland pond, California Central Valley.

Part of what I like about this photograph of the reflection of winter sky in a wetland pond is that there is almost nothing solid in it — aside from some scattered plants in the pond it is entirely sky, clouds, water, and reflections. There is almost a horizon out there somewhere, but it is hard to detect since it is obscured by tule fog.

Although there’s little in the photograph to rule out other options, the location happens to be in Central Valley wetlands. In good years, rainfall fills these ponds in the winter through early spring, and areas of solid summer ground become lakes, some quite large. They are more than a visual marvel — winter birds and, later, spring plants rely on their annual formation.

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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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Grasslands, Winter Morning

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Grasslands, Winter Morning
“Grasslands, Winter Morning” — A foggy winter morning in a region of grasslands and vernal pools in California’s Central Valley.

One of my favorite John Muir stories concerns how he first traveled to the Sierra. He Walked! From the Bay Area! From what I recall he went via Pacheco Pass (today’s state route 152) before entering the Great Central Valley. I often take this route when heading east, so I’m frequently reminded of his journey. Concerning his arrival in the Valley he wrote,” “At my feet lay the Great Central Valley of California, level and flowery, like a lake of pure sunshine, forty or fifty miles wide, five hundred miles long, one rich furred garden of yellow Compositae.”

It is difficult to imagine what he experienced at a time when the Valley was a quiet, largely unpopulated place. Today it focuses on agriculture and business and the rapidly increasing populations in towns and cities along highways 99 and 5. But occasionally, in the right places, you can sometimes find yourself where it is possible to imagine an immense, still, quiet landscape in that valley.

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.