Tag Archives: san joaquin

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Fog and Trees

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Winter Fog and Trees
“Winter Fog and Trees” — Thick tule fog in a thicket of trees, Central Valley.

TWinter is the season for migratory birds in California’s Central Valley, and I try to get out there as often as I can. This region is also the site of extraordinary tule fog — frequently thick enough to make driving quite challenging. My ideal day of bird photography In the Valley starts with early morning fog that begins to thin after dawn. But sometimes the fog does not thin.

This was one of those persistently foggy days. I could hear birds around me, but I could rarely see more than a hundred feet or so into the murk, so bird photography was not happening. That’s my signal to revert to landscape photography, and fortunately the fog produces a moody and mysterious effect on the landscape.

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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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Islands, Fog

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Islands, Fog
“Islands, Fog” — Two small reed-covered wetlands islands in thick winter tule fog.

At times I like to make photographs that contain as little detail as possible, photographs that might suggest more than they tell. The most distinct feature in this scene is the darker island at the left. Beyond that we see (barely) one more island and then nothing. Any further detail is masked by the thick Central Valley tule fog.

It was a remarkably foggy day. I drove over there from my home about two hours away, and the last half hour or so of the drive was in fog so thick I could barely see the roadway. I had initially hoped that I might get a bit of sunrise color and then a late-morning clearing, but neither happened. If anything, the fog got thicker after noon!

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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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Levee Road, Tule Fog

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Levee Road, Tule Fog
“Levee Road, Tule Fog” — Tule fog shrouds the winter landscape along a California Central Valley levee road.

A couple of weeks ago I made my way out to California’s Central Valley for what I hoped would be a day of bird photography augmented by landscape work. My favorite days at this time of year begin with tule fog that clears before noon. There is wonderful transitional light as the conditions change, and once the fog lifts there are usually opportunities for bird photography. Well, I got the fog I came for… and it never left! (The birds? Not so much.)

This spot along a levee road skirting wetland ponds is very familiar to me. I photograph here all the time, and I’ve photographed literally this same scene often — at dawn, in fog, late in the day, after dusk. It includes several elements I associate with this place: skeletal winter trees, new growth after winter rains, and the landscape fading into the distance under the fog.

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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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Three Trees and Pasture

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Three Trees and Pasture
“Three Trees and Pasture” — Three dormant trees in a newly-green Central Valley pasture.

A band of photographers and friends has met in a semi-wild place every New Year’s Day for about a decade. We get join welcome tothe new year, share stories, and photograph birds and the landscape. Until this year we had a streak of good weather New Year’s Days, but we were due for bad weather — and we got it! It wasn’t exactly horrible, but it was rather wet and gray… except for a few moments when the clouds parted enough to allow some light.

These three bare trees are old friends of mine. I’ve visited and photographed them for years. This time I was intrigued by the light on more distant trees, the ominous skies, and the newly green pasture. That winter green is a characteristic of much of California. it must almost seem to those from other places that our seasons are backwards — brown and dry in the summer and lush and green in the middle of winter.

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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.