Tag Archives: ripples

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake and Tufa Towers

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Mono Lake and Tufa Towers
“Mono Lake and Tufa Towers” — A row of tufa towers at the shoreline of Mono Lake.

In early July I spent a few days in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, mostly photographing high country in and around the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite National Park. Since I was camped just outside the park boundary and east of the crest, I managed to get down to the high desert country east of the range, too. In particular, I spent one morning photographing at Mono Lake.

These tufa towers are, of course, more or less the classic subject at the lake. On this morning they were actually more of an afterthought for me. My main subject had been long views of the lake itself, and especially those that include the distant mountains to its east and north. I started photographing that subject before sunrise and kept at it until the early morning warm light dissipated. With plenty of time on my hands, I figured I might as well take a long, lazy walk down to the shoreline where I made this photograph.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Marsh and Fog, Sunrise

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Marsh and Fog, Sunrise, Central Valley, California
“Marsh and Fog, Sunrise” — Fog envelopes a wetlands marsh at sunrise.

This was a morning of utmost stillness and quiet. We worked our way around the perimeter of a wetlands landscape filled with ponds. Geese and sandhill cranes were beginning to stir in the first light. There was thick tule fog before dawn, and it started to thin as the sky began to lighten as the sun rose.

These wetlands marshes can be a welcome antidote to the stresses of our current world. (No, I don’t believe in ignoring the causes of that stress, just in trying to find balance.) Here things move so slowly that sometimes they barely appear to change at all. In this scene a few ducks paddled by slowly, and tiny ripples appeared in the water, while fog moved almost imperceptibly.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Dawn Reflections, Mono Lake

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Dawn Reflections, Mono Lake
Colorful dawn light reflected on the surface of Mono Lake.

Dawn Reflections, Mono Lake. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Colorful dawn light reflected on the surface of Mono Lake.

On this morning I had a particular scene in mind to photograph at Mono Lake, so I was at that location before sunrise. I worked that subject until just before the sun actually rose, as planned, and then I turned to something different — the surface of the huge lake itself, slightly disturbed by morning breezes, with waterfowl here and there, as the sun was just about to top a mountain range fare to the east. I angled the camera downwards to keep the sky out of the frame, including just a bit of the distant mountains many miles away beyond the far shore.

On a clear morning like this one, the most intense sky color comes before sunrise, after which the brilliant sun washes out the colors that are visible earlier. To make this photograph I aimed the camera directly toward the point on the horizon where the sun would rise, so the very brightest portion of the colorful sky was strongly reflected on the lake’s surface.

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

Sunrise, Wetlands

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Sunrise, Wetlands
Winter sun rising through morning clouds is reflected in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

Sunrise, Wetlands. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Winter sun rising through morning clouds is reflected in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

This is a photograph from the same morning that produced another sunrise photograph I recently shared — one with the sun a bit lower and cranes flying above. Usually I might be disappointed to find morning clouds above the distant Sierra Nevada, but this time they were just thick/thin enough to be an advantage. The muted the intensity of the direct sun. I made this photograph just as the sun moved above a thicker band of clouds.

The foreground expanse of water obviously reflects the sunrise light and colors, but the closest portions reflect other clouds higher in the sky and less colorful. In the middle a large group of sandhill cranes stands in the shallow 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.

Blog | About | Twitter | 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.