Tag Archives: road

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tree, Clearing Fog, Dawn

Image Leave a comment
“Tree, Clearing Fog, Dawn” — An old winter tree sillouetted against the dawn sky as tule fog clears.

Certain subjects keep drawing me back. I don’t mean just general types of subjects, but very specific things, places, objects, and so forth. This tree, at this time of day, in these conditions, is one of those subjects. It is at a place where I frequently photograph in the winter months, and I usually try to be there on mornings when the fog will clear at or after dawn — a morning just like this one.

There is something to be said for seeking out new and unusual subjects. But I think there is also great value in returning to the same subjects and getting to know them more deeply. Beyond that, there is a wonderful sense of being “grounded” in a familiar landscape, one that you know from long acquaintance, to the point that the surprises happen against a backdrop of deep familiarity.

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 | BlueSky | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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: Northern California

Levee Road, Clearing Fog

Image Leave a comment
“Levee Road, Clearing Fog” — Morning tule fog clears and the sun comes out along a Central Valley levee road.

Every New Year’s Day a group of us gather to greet the literal dawn of the new year and make photographs. This year Patty and I turned it into a three-day event, arriving on New Year’s Eve and hanging around through the morning of January 2. This isn’t your typical place to celebrate New Year’s Day — it is a quiet, isolated place in portions of of California that is likely not on most peoples’ maps. But there is beautiful light, quiet, and frequently the sun rising through tule fog.

It was quite foggy when we arrived before dawn on this morning, but not the incredibly thick fog that makes travel dangerous. In fact, the layer of tule fog was shallow enough that we could see the pre-dawn sky overhead. The fog began to thin soon after sunrise, and here along the levee road the intense color of early morning light was winning the battle with the remaining 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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Stream, Autumn Reflections

Image Leave a comment
Stream, Autumn Reflections
“Stream, Autumn Reflections” — An Eastern Sierra Nevada stream reflects autumn aspen colors.

This is an older photograph (by a year or so) of a stream that I have photographed before — and I have shared other photographs of it here. It is a spot that I frequently pass, often stopping but typically not photographing. In some ways the subject can seem like a bit of a one-trick pony, and it is often photographed in pretty much the same way. But I stopped on this afternoon and liked the light, especially the bright aspens and their reflection in the stream.

On a technical note, this is a somewhat challenging kind of photograph to make. The difficulty is that there is a huge range of luminosity values between the brightly sunlit golden aspen leaves and the much darker creek running through the shadows. In the early days of digital photography this might have required a blend of two or more images, each optimized for either the bright or dark tones. But with a modern camera it is now possible to capture a useful single exposure and post-process it while retaining good quality.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Aspen Color, Bishop Canyon

Image Leave a comment
Aspen Color, Bishop Canyon
“Aspen Color, Bishop Canyon” — A group of aspen trees in peak autumn color, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

All over the Sierra there are little bits of the landscape with which I have somehow developed a long term relationship — places I return to year after year. They are all different. There’s a particular boulder along the trail into Lyell Canyon, a small grove of aspens in the June Lake area, a granite slab in Tuolumne Meadows, a camp spot in the Yosemite high country, this little group of aspens — and, of course, many more. How each of them came to have these connections for me is a bit hard to explain, though some do have particular stories.

Perhaps these trees got my attention because they stand against an interesting background, but also because they seem like they should be an easily photographed subject — yet I have found them tricky to photograph over the years. Sometimes the color isn’t quite right, or else I arrive after too many leaves have fallen. But I inevitably walk the little use trail past them and make a few photographs every fall.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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