Tag Archives: orange

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Sky

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Autumn Sky
“Autumn Sky” — November morning sky and clouds above California’s Central Valley.

The pre-dawn light on this autumn morning in California’s Central Valley did not look all that promising. It was one of those, “OK, but nothing remarkable” days — lovely, but not with quite the magic I hoped for. As I recall, the earliest light of sunrise was muted by clouds to the east over the Sierra Nevada. But before long things began to improve, and I had a few moments of quite intense light shortly after sunrise.

This is an example of a phenomenon that I’ve learned to watch for. It is a circumstance that increases the potential for brilliant dawn or sunset color, though it is far from a guarantee. On a cloudy morning or evening when the cloud layer ends far to the east (at dawn) or west (at sunset), there is a chance that the sun will briefly shine under the clouds as it touches the horizon, lighting the clouds with intensely colorful light from underneath.

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

Cranes at Dusk

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Cranes at Dusk
“Cranes at Dusk” — The evening fly-in of lesser sandhill cranes at dusk.

We spent New Year’s Day with friends, after getting up early to greet the literal dawn of the new year. OK, it was kind of cloudy and we didn’t see the sun until later. But still, it was a great day and a fine group to share it with. We photographed birds and landscape, and we shared food and drink that each of us had brought for the occasion. The day culminated with the evening fly-in of sandhill cranes.

The sandhill cranes stay in nearby ponds overnight, and around dawn many of them get up and fly away for the day. Typically they return at dusk, when there’s barely enough light left for photography, and their characteristic cries mark the end of the day. This small group was cooperative enough to pass through a patch of beautiful, colorful twilight sky just before landing.

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: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pier 57, Crane Barge

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Pier 57, Crane Barge
A crane barge docked next to Pier 57, Manhattan.

Pier 57, Crane Barge. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A crane barge docked next to Pier 57, Manhattan.

Manhattan’s Hudson River waterfront fascinates me. It is a busy place with lots of vehicle traffic, but many facilities along the shore have been and are being transformed. Old piers fall into ruin, others are converted to new purposes. New structures extend the city over the water. I made this photograph at one of those new places, the “Little Island.” It seems to grow organically from the water, and it houses a busy little park with enough elevation to provide good views of the surroundings.

This photograph looks up the shoreline to Pier 57, a renovated structure that is now a commercial space and which includes its own park. The relationship between the building’s green paint and the red-orange color of the crane caught my attention, as did the colorful reflection in the water just beyond the old pilings.

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

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Autumn Tree, Brick Wall

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Autumn Tree, Brick Wall
Brick wall and an autumn tree, The High Line, Manhattan.

Autumn Tree, Brick Wall. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Brick wall and an autumn tree, The High Line, Manhattan.

Merry Christmas 2023! This is another photograph in the recent series from Manhattan’s High Line Park, where the subject of partially bare autumn trees juxtaposed with brick walls held my attention. We took a long walk on the High Line on a breezy November day, and we were impressed by the amount of fall color. In truth, there was almost as much as I find in some of the natural areas where I photograph.

One source of interest in these subjects for me is the contrast between the natural and less-than-linear structures of the trees and the backdrop of linear and regular patterns in the brick walls. In each of them I also worked with side-light that highlights the structure of the walls, and I selected trees with just a few remaining autumn leaves.

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

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