Tag Archives: road

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

Mountains, Forest, and Stream

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Mountains, Forest, and Stream
A stream curves past forest and towards Sierra Nevada crest peaks in late summer.

Mountains, Forest, and Stream. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A stream curves past forest and towards Sierra Nevada crest peaks in late summer.

The question of how to categorize this photograph (as I do with all o them at my website) perplexed me a bit. Although I was set up outside of Yosemite National Park, the two prominent peaks are within its boundaries. And do I call this a “fall color photograph?” The trees don’t suggest doing so, but the slight yellow on the willows and the lovely golden brown on the hillside signal this season. Categorization questions aside, this was a beautiful late-summer Sierra day, one of sunshine and light – between two days of rain, hail, and even some snow.

It is hard to know how many times I have passed this location over the years — ok, over the decades. But I have typically been here while on the way to someplace else, and while I’ve noticed it in passing I don’t recall stopping to photograph it before. This time I wasn’t in a hurry, and I had no other destination in mind — so I went slow and pulled over a few times to make photographs along this creek.

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: Agriculture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Orchard in Bloom, Country Road

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Orchard in Bloom, Country Road
A narrow country road runs past a Central Valley orchard in bloom.

Orchard in Bloom, Country Road. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A narrow country road runs past a Central Valley orchard in bloom.

In general, most people don’t think of the Central Valley as the scenic highlight of California. I suppose that makes sense in a state that includes redwood forests, the Sierra Nevada, the beautiful desolation of deserts, the Pacific Ocean coast, and some great cities. Many Californians think of the Great valley as something to drive through on the way to some other place. But there are beautiful things out there, even in some of the agricultural areas — and recently I have heard that “going to see the almond orchards in bloom” has become a thing.

Every winter when the trees suddenly blossom it seems like “they bloomed early this year.” I finally realized that, no, this is just when they blossom — though the sudden appearance still takes me by surprise. I took a break from bird photography on this morning to drive around a bit, and I found this scene of a narrow road heading down the edge of one of these huge orchards, in morning sun but with sky muted a bit by thin fog.

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: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Trees, Levee Road

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Autumn Trees, Levee road
Trees with autumn leaves along a road winding along a levee in Central Valley wetlands.

Autumn Trees, Levee Road. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Trees with autumn leaves along a road winding along a levee in Central Valley wetlands.

It just occurred to me that this sequence of photographs roughly narrates the course of a typical day here at this time of year. The ideal day starts before sunrise in thick fog. Then the fog becomes lighter and takes on the colors of dawn if things work just right. Eventually the fog thins more and the light becomes brighter and more directional. Before too long the fog dissipates and I’m left with the winter atmospheric haze, which softens the landscape even as the colors intensify.

I was hours into photographing this location when I came to these trees. Although it was still cold, the sun was shining confidently through the midday haze. The atmosphere was still a bit soft, but the fall colors were stronger. I initially stopped to photograph a bird perched at the top of one of the trees, but soon the bird left and I went into landscape photography mode.

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.

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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: Fall, Photographs: Nature

Levee Road, Fog, and Tree

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Levee Road, Fog, and Tree
Autumn tule fog glows in morning sun, blankets a Central Valley levee road, and obscures an old tree.

Levee Road, Fog, and Tree. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn tule fog glows in morning sun, blankets a Central Valley levee road, and obscures an old tree.

The subject here is an old Central Valley tree along a levee road on a very foggy autumn morning. You may recall that my previous photograph of a fog-obscured tree from this location was in color — thought just barely, as I wrote about in that post. Color was similarly subtle (as in “nearly absent”) in this scene, too, so I went ahead and interpreted the scene in black and white.

The quiet and moody quality of this scene, of course, comes largely from the tule fog. But that is enhanced by the way it glows in the back light from the sun, seen just above and slightly to the left of the tree. The fog is very thick here, but not very deep, and even though visibility was probably little more than 100 feet, the sunlight was able to penetrate and light up the fog.

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.

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