Tag Archives: san joaquin

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Plants

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Winter Plants
“Winter Plants” —Dormant winter plants await spring alongside a Central Valley road.

I like to photograph in California’s Central Valley during the dark and foggy part of the year — roughly from November through the first half of March. (There are some distinctly non-dark days during this period, too.) With the exception of grasses, which start to green up in California during the winter, this is largely a season of dormant plants. As I pass through these wetland areas I’m always intrigued by the forms of these plants, especially when backed by or reflected by the water.

I was out there to photograph birds, but during quieter moments I turned my attention to these plants. Most of them don’t make for good photographs — they have busy backgrounds, they are too thick, or their shapes just aren’t quite right. But every so often I find a specimen that has managed to take on a graceful, even flowing shape.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky

Wetlands, Winter Sky

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Wetlands, Winter Sky
“Wetlands, Winter Sky” — A fog-draped landscape of water and sky and clouds,, Central Valley, California.

Recently I was thinking about a particular sort of “moment of consciousness” that I’ve experienced a few times. It usually (though not that often!) comes when I’m in a natural place where more or less nothing is happening and my pace has slowed. It is hard to define precisely what these moments are or force them to happen, but when they do come they are palpable. There’s a sense of immense stillness and of time almost stopping. For me it has come on a few occasions in the desert or in the mountains, alone on a windless and silent day..

I think it could come in a place like this, too. At one point this week I paused and just sat quietly and considered what is happening most of the time in this wetlands location. The answer is: nothing obviously remarkable. A few birds move about slowly and almost silently (until the geese and cranes arrive!), the water is still, and the sky seems fixed and luminous. I’m not sure that a photograph can embody all of that, but perhaps it can be a reminder.

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

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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Western Meadowlark

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Western Meadowlark
“Western Meadowlark” — A western meadowlark wings while perched in winter bull rushes, Central Valley.

Few birds can brighten a gray, foggy morning as well as the western meadowlark. Its brilliant yellow coloration stands out in the blue-gray foggy landscape. But that’s not all — its song is effusive and cheery. I hear that I’m not the only one who counts it as a favorite.

I encountered this one as I drove very slowly along a rural Central VAlley levee road, looking for landscapes and birds to photograph. At first it was almost hidden in the thick bull rushes, but when I got in just the right position it became clearly visible. A bit to my surprise the bird stuck around and posed for quite some time.

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.

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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky, Photographs: Wildlife

Winter Geese, Morning Fog

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Winter Geese, Morning Fog
“Winter Geese, Morning Fog” — Winter geese fly above foggy wetlands in morning light.

This was not the photograph I planned to make when I stopped here. The area was blanketed with tule fog, and no birds were visible. So I got out my tripod and turned my attention to making landscape photographs. As I worked the fog began to thin, and the sky above became faintly visible though the shallow fog. I heard geese approaching, and as the first group passed I grabbed my camera off the tripod, quickly reset things for handheld photography, and framed this subject as the next large group passed overhead.

There is a lot of this “gear switching” when I photograph migratory birds. One moment I might be photographing an individual bird in flight — which requires some specific camera settings. A moment later my attention may turn to a tree or clouds or the sky, and that sort of landscape photography uses entirely different settings and sometimes different lenses… or even a different camera!

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.

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