Tag Archives: morning

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Central Valley Morning Sky

Image January 28, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Clouds above wetland ponds on winter morning in Californai’s Cetmral Valley.

California’s Central Valley is a complicated place. If you drive through the impressions are largely of traffic, lots of huge trucks, endless fields, and seemingly nondescript cities and towns. In the winter the air can be awful when inversions put a lid on it for days or weeks at a time. But on the right days and at the right times on those days there is a lot of beauty out there, too — and the immense sky is a good part of that.

This was one of the very first photographs I made in 2023. It was early on New Year’s Day, and I had probably shot a handful of attempts at bird photographs before we arrived at this spot. From here the view to the northeast was clear, clouds from a departing storm still clustered around the Sierra, and early morning sunlight colored the clouds directly overhead.

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

Morning Clouds, Dormant Tree

Image January 26, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning sky filled with blue clouds behind a winter-dormant tree, Central Valley, California.

This photograph is from New Yea’s Day morning, when a small group of us met in a wild place to photograph birds and, a bit later, to break out goodies and champagne to toast the arrival of 2023. The day was a rousing social success… which made up for the overall less-than-thrilling photographic conditions. It was far from a “bust,” but moments of good light were separated by many more with gray skies and wind.

This complex tree is an “old friend” of mine — a tree that I see many times each year. Every time I pass I think about how to photograph it and realize that it isn’t an easy subject! My most successful efforts have been in fog, when details of the scene are muted and the background disappears. On this day I had some unusual colors and light to work with — the blue-toned sky and the more colorful breaks in the clouds.

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

Cranes in Silhouette

Image January 25, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sandhill cranes in flight, silhouetted against the sky and sunrise clouds.

Sandhill cranes seem to be among the more wary birds in the locations where I usually do my bird photography this time of year. On occasion, geese will not be uncomfortable within a few dozen feet of humans, especially later in the season. But I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to cranes. They even avoid us when flying, and I’ve often watched a group heading straight toward my position only to divert to one side.

I photographed this small flock around sunrise on a day when various kinds of clouds were in the sky — high, thin clouds that had been brilliantly illuminated by pre-sunrise light, and these thinner, wispier clouds that glowed with more subtle colors. Since I wanted the cloud colors in the photograph, I exposed for them, letting the birds go nearly black.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Cliffs, Beach, and Winter Surf

Image January 20, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Coastal cliffs, beach and winter surf near Rocky Point, Big Sur Coast.

In an earlier post describing another photograph from this recent visit to the Big Sur coast I mentioned that it included virtually all of the features found in “typical”many landscape photograph from this location, with the point arguably being, “what more could I ask for?”. The truth about this visit was a bit more complicated. It was, indeed, a wonderful morning on the coast — but it also was not exactly easy photography. There were objective challenges posed by the recent heavy rains and the closures and damage they brought. But the light was also a challenge, especially when the haze became thick.

However, that same haze did thin from time to time, transforming dull and flat light into something soft and lovely — directional sunlight muted by passing through high clouds and thin fog. I spent a bit of time at the location of this photograph, and during much of it the fog was thick enough to choke off that light. But for a moment or two the fog shifted and thinned and there was enough light to create shadows and open up the scene a bit.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: morning

Central Valley Morning Sky

Morning Clouds, Dormant Tree

Cranes in Silhouette

Cliffs, Beach, and Winter Surf

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