Tag Archives: row

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees In Sun, Cliff In Shadow

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Trees In Sun, Cliff In Shadow
Sun from behind an ice-rimmed granite monolith lights a row of trees at the edge of a meadow

Trees In Sun, Cliff In Shadow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sun from behind an ice-rimmed granite monolith lights a row of trees at the edge of a meadow

I made this photograph on a day of somewhat ephemeral conditions. There had been snow the day before — light snow, but in very cold conditions. On this morning the storm had passed, but it was so cold that a thin layer of snow was still there. It was in the meadows, on the branches of trees, and collected on every small irregularity on the granite cliffs above Yosemite Valley. At the moment I made this photograph the sunlight, shining through thin clouds, had just arrived on the closest trees, while those in the distance remained in cold shadows.

The light and the snow patterns on the face of the granite monolith are remarkable. The small amount of snow — perhaps only and inch or two — brought the patterns of cracks and small ledges into relief, making visible features that we might overlook on a warmer day And the light on the cliff is rather blue since the face is illuminated not by direct sunlight, but instead by the giant “light panel in the sky,” which happens to be very blue!

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Central Valley Winter Trees

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Central Valley Winter Trees
Central Valley Winter Trees

Central Valley Winter Trees. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 16, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A row of trees on a wintry day in California’s Central Valley

I have admired this beautiful cluster of big trees for the past few years. They are very close to a place in the San Joaquin Valley where I frequently photograph migratory birds at this time of year — in fact, the odds are pretty good that this grove appears in the distance in some of my bird photographs. The trees are on ranch land, and cattle graze all around the area, so I presume that they must be there to provide share or perhaps a wind break.

Although photographing the trees has been on my mind, I’ve usually been far too busy with the birds, and when the good light hits the trees I’m often somewhere else. On this winter day a friend and I were standing along the roadway that runs next to the farm, photographing a very large flock of geese that had settled in on the pasture. The day had started out in thick for, and while there was still a lot of fog overhead, a bit of weak sunlight began to break through just a bit. As it softly lit the trees I turned away from the geese for a moment and made this photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Calf, Cottonwoods, and Cranes in Flight

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Calf, Cottonwoods, and Cranes in Flight
Calf, Cottonwoods, and Cranes in Flight

Calf, Cottonwoods, and Cranes in Flight. San Joaquin Valley, California. November 24, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A calf grazes near a row of autumn cottonwood trees on a foggy morning and as sandhill cranes fly overhead

On this foggy morning I had begun photographing a bit earlier, just at dawn. I gradually worked my way along a gravel country road, stopping frequently – spending more time stopped than driving, actually – to photograph the foggy landscape and migratory birds. At this early hour, the sandhill cranes were my primary targets. At times, when the fog cleared a bit, it was possible to see many of them taking off for distant points as the day began. When the fog thickened, they were heard more than seen, at least until they flew close enough to momentarily appear overhead through the fog.

In a place where the road paralleled a row of cottonwood trees with golden autumn leaves I stopped to wait for the birds to fly overhead. From a distance away I had figured out that many of the cranes were headed this way as they took off, so it seemed that if I stopped and waited here quietly the birds might come to me. And they did – every few minutes another group would fly low over my position. I shared this spot with a herd of cattle, quite a few of whom found me to be the most interesting thing in their early morning world and stared quietly at me. One calf that had passed beneath a fence around the pasture was busy grazing along the lane, so I stopped and photographed it beneath the cottonwood trees as a group of sandhill cranes passed overhead.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tall Trees, Meadow, Autumn

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Tall Trees, Meadow, Autumn
Tall Trees, Meadow, Autumn

Tall Trees, Meadow, Autumn. Yosemite Valley, California. October 30, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tall trees grow in a row in a meadow backed by cottonwood and black oak trees with autumn foliage

I guess I just can’t help myself when it comes to photographing in this Yosemite Valley meadow area – or in similar areas, for that matter. As I’ve written before, during the time of the year when the days are shorter and the sun is lower, the light in some of these places is constantly changing – pre-sunrise and post-sunset soft “blue hour” light, early and late direct sun over the upper edges of cliffs, shadow right after dawn and before sunset and when cliffs interrupt the light during midday hours. Other changes take place on a longer cycle – the stark quality of winter, snow covering everything when winter storms arrive, morning fog, trees newly green in spring or yellow and gold in fall. And there are many more things to see than just the “landscape size” things – wildflowers, fallen leaves, frost, and more.

So, yes, I visited and revisited the meadows during this fall’s end-of-October visit to The Valley. While I often focus on the black oaks that grow in these meadows, here I decided to focus on evergreen trees. This group stands almost evenly spaced in a row. I struggled with how to deal with their height when shooting from a relatively close distance, and then realized that by not including the whole tree I could emphasize the vertical lines of their trunks and perhaps suggest the even higher parts of the trees that are not visible here.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.