Tag Archives: nature

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

Aspen Trees, Valley

January 7, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A grove of autumn aspen trees follows the path of a Sierra Nevada valley

I’ve had this one sitting on my virtual desktop for some time now, and I suppose it is time to share it! Some who photograph a lot in the eastern Sierra may know the location, though the specifics are probably not all that important. Here, as in other locations on the “East Side,” a river of aspen trees runs down a shallow water-course that drops from a ridge to a lake through sage brush country.

The photograph was made a bit earlier than usual for this location, in this fifth (and, as I write this, hopefully final?) year of California’s recent great five-year drought. This has affected the entire state, including the patterns of fall color along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra, where (to make a long story short) some trees have changed much earlier than usual and others have died. This familiar spot changed early, and I was fortunate to be there on this date when I would usually not be looking to photograph aspen color.

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

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

Winter Wetlands and Sky

January 6, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese flock on California Central Valley winter wetlands

To simplify, there are two common conditions in California’s Central Valley in winter: dense tule fog that reduces the visibility to mere feet, and immense open skies above the flatlands that reveal the distant snow-covered mountains. Sometimes both condiments — and, to be fair, some other possibilities — reveal themselves on the same day, as happened on this New Year’s Day visit.

We headed out to the Great Valley before dawn, arriving to a combination of scattered tule fog that continued to fill in as the morning went on, eventually turning the day rather gray. We spent the morning photographing this landscape and the tens of thousands of migratory birds that occupy it this time of year. By mid afternoon the sky began to clear as winds blew away most of the fog to reveal a clouded-studded blue sky above the expansive wetlands. Here that sky is reflected in a wetland pond — and a bit further out from the camera position you may be able to make out the flock of many thousands of Ross’s and snow geese on the water.

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

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

Trees, Fog, and Geese

January 4, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese fly through early morning fog and among trees in California’s Central Valley

A small group of us met before dawn on New Year’s Day, as we do each year, at a location in the California Central Valley, with the plan of welcoming the (literal!) dawn of the new year in the company of a few photographer friends and few tens of thousands of feathered friends.

It is typical for there to be tule fog in parts of the Central Valley on winter mornings, and we encountered some as we drove. However, we were surprised to find that it had pretty much cleared by the time we arrived, and we actually got to see the sun rise above a distant fog bank. But not long after this the fog began to move back in — first isolated pockets formed above creeks and ponds, and soon it began to collect in long streamers passing overhead. I bracketed a flock of Ross’s geese between a nearby solitary tree (with a couple of hawks that you may spot if you look closely) and a further line of cottonwoods as the fog began to thicken.

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

Oak Tree, Clearing Storm

January 3, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A Yosemite valley oak tree with autumn storm clouds swirling around granite cliffs

This may be an almost quintessential Yosemite Valley autumn scene — a bit of golden brown meadow, back-lit black oak tree fall color, granite cliffs, and the clouds of a dissipating early season storm.

This is perhaps my favorite time in the Valley, with a snowy winter day providing the only real competition for that designation. There is an end-of-summer feeling still, especially since the days are often sunny and pleasantly warm. The place is more colorful than at any other time of year — spring wildflowers may be more diverse, but the masses of leaves are larger. With an early rain storm, the near-dormant waterfalls spring back to life and the Merced River rises. And behind all of the knowledge that winter’s arrival is only weeks away.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: nature

Aspen Trees, Valley

Winter Wetlands and Sky

Trees, Fog, and Geese

Oak Tree, Clearing Storm

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