Tag Archives: pond

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

Aspens, Meadow, and Pond

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Aspens, Meadow, and Pond
Aspen trees at the peak of autumn color at the edge of an Eastern Sierra Nevada meadow pond.

Aspens, Meadow, and Pond. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Aspen trees at the peak of autumn color at the edge of an Eastern Sierra Nevada meadow pond.

One of the things that Sierra Nevada aspen photographer are always looking for is leaf color other than the ubiquitous yellow-gold seen on the vast majority of aspens. That color can be quite beautiful, but colors that contrast with it are special. This could be the green of yet-to-change trees, but ideally it is the beautiful red and orange leaves that appear less frequently. In most cases these rarer colors appear among larger numbers of yellow trees, and they can stand out wonderfully against that background.

I photographed these trees near a spot where I often pause to look at early yellow color, but where I usually do not photograph. However, on the visit during the third week of October (later than usual for me) essentially all of the leaves had turned, and I notices some beautiful orange and red trees that I hadn’t seen before. I took a short walk to a slightly elevated camera position and photographed them with a bit of meadow and pond in the foreground.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Treeline Meadow

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Treeline Meadow
A green mid-summer subalpine Sierra Nevada meadow surrounded by glaciated granite and sparse trees.

Treeline Meadow. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A green mid-summer subalpine Sierra Nevada meadow surrounded by glaciated granite and sparse trees.

We recently returned from a week in the Eastern Sierra backcountry, base-camping with good friends and fellow photographers in an area of exceptional beauty and photographic opportunities. I made this photograph one morning in an area of extensive meadows a short distance from our home base. I always think of scenes like this as epitomizing the “range of light” Sierra — high, open country on comfortable, sunny days.

Truth be told, in addition to these conditions, we also encountered some extraordinary weather that was unusual for this time of year. Within the first hours of arriving here a powerful electrical storm arrived and pinned us down in tents for hours as lightning flashed, thunder boomed, rain and hail poured down, and the landscape flooded. I don’t recall a similar summer experience in these mountains in decades of backcountry travel.

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 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.

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

Cranes, First Light

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Cranes, First Light
The first morning sunlight on a flock of sandhill cranes standing in a wetlands pond.

Cranes, First Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The first morning sunlight on a flock of sandhill cranes standing in a wetlands pond.

The light and atmosphere were a bit unusual on this morning. There was just a bit of ground fog, along with some general haze. As the sun came up, a thin layer of clouds to the east over the Sierra Nevada blocked the direct sunlight. These factors combined to produce a very muted and subdued quality as I photographed groups of sandhill cranes in ponds at this wetlands location, standing in groups and occasionally flying off.

As I photographed in this subtle light I knew that eventually the sun would rise about that eastern cloud deck, and that this would produce a few moments of very warm-colored light that was still softened by the haze and fog. I made this photograph of the cranes just as that first direct sunlight arrived.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | 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.

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

Cranes Departing

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Cranes Departing
Restless sandhill cranes begin to take flight from wetlands on a winter morning.

Cranes Departing. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Restless sandhill cranes begin to take flight from wetlands on a winter morning.

On a typical winter morning where migratory birds hang out, the cycle of early photography often follows a familiar arc. I arrive in near-darkness and start photographing right away, especially when the birds are very active. Rather than being selective about where and when… I follow the patterns that the birds present. If cranes are taking off from a pond, I go there. If a huge flock of geese is flying out, I photograph that. Despite arriving with a plan, these first moments are often about improvising with the conditions I find.

Then, around sunrise or just afterwards, things may slow down a bit. A bit more strategizing may be effective, and I take stock of the light and atmosphere, the locations of birds before figuring out what I’ll do next and where I’ll do it. On this morning I settled on near a large group of sandhill cranes that was still hanging out in and around a shallow pond. I stopped and waited, expecting that they would soon become restless and begin to fly out, a few birds at a time. And, indeed, that is what happened.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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