Tag Archives: mountains

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

Light on Water, Big Sur Coast

Image March 3, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Near the end of February I made a quick trip down the Big Sur coast — though I was eventually stopped by road closures resulting from this winter’s storms. Before I turned around I stopped above this scene, one of my favorites for its long views of receding headlands, and for the frequent presence of fog and haze.

I often go in the morning, before the inevitable crowds arrive. Morning light can be tricky here, as the sun has to rise above tall mountains inland of the highway. However, when that light comes down canyons and into fog and haze it produces spectacular light. Another hint: people often think of this coast as running north-south, but it is northwest to southeast. This means that by late morning the sun often reflects directly off the surface of the water, as in this photograph, creating strong contrasts between dark land and bright water.

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.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetland Pond and Trees, Dawn

Image February 25, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I made this photograph in a quiet corner of a place where I often photograph in winter. Trees grow along a levee separating a small pond from a much larger body of water where migratory birds sometimes land. I had a brief window of sunrise light on this morning, as clouds from an arriving weather system moved overhead and on toward the east, darkening the sky except for a narrow strip above the distant Sierra Nevada.

I have photographed these trees before, though in quite different light. Birds often are found here, though not typically the larger geese and cranes. (By good luck, a line of geese passed along the trees as I made the exposure, but you might have to look for them.) More common birds are the various “little brown birds,” plus some raptors and the occasional owl.

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.

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

Aspen Slopes

Image December 7, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Autumn aspen trees rise from a valley toward the Sierra Nevada crest.

This little valley running along the base of the eastern slopes of the Sierra was on my agenda for this trip. But due to trying to squeeze in visits to numerous locations I couldn’t get to all of them in the perfect, soft, early and late day light. I arrived at this spot in the late afternoon, when the sun was backlighting these trees.

The answer groves here are among the most extensive I know of. They are not fully continuous, but there are quite a few of them and they are draped across the slopes, rising high up to where they meet the conifer forest. While the daytime sunlight isn’t my favorite for aspen photography, here the backlight intensifies the colors of the leaves.

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

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Storm Clouds, Trees in Silhouette

Image December 6, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

East slope Sierra Nevada trees silhouetted against clouds and rain of a passing autumn storm.

This is the wonderful sort of weather that wasn’t in the forecast and which catches you by surprise. It had been a sunny day with just a few clouds floating around when this cell appeared to the east of the Sierra crest. I hadn’t really been paying attention to it until I stopped here and looked toward basin and range country to see streamers of virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) falling from the building clouds.

It was late in the day when I made this photograph. The sun was at my back as I looked east, and long shadows from Sierra crest peaks were already falling across my position and these nearby trees. I was in this spot mostly to photograph aspen trees, but this panorama of desert mountain terrain beyond the east slope of the Sierra was arresting.