Tag Archives: san joaquin

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Dawn Clouds, Reflection

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Dawn Clouds, Reflection
Dawn light on clouds, reflected in a wetland pond

Dawn Clouds, Reflection. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn light on clouds, reflected in a wetland pond

Sometimes the morning world surprises you. This was one of those times. I went to this place hoping that I might be ahead of an incoming weather front that was approaching from the northwest, but as the first light began to glow it was clear that I was going to be under the clouds. They covered almost the entire sky and promised to produce pretty gray conditions.

However, I did notice a very thin opening far to the east, between a mountain range and the far edge of the cloud shield. This is a condition which can, somewhat ironically, produce a brief burst of spectacular color right at sunrise (or sunset, if the break is in the west) that can be truly stunning. Basically, against a backdrop of largely dark conditions, the light will briefly shine upwards onto the clouds just as the sun reaches the horizon, sometimes producing some of the most intense light you’ll see — though the effect typically lasts only a few minutes and then the “lights go out” again quite quickly. On this morning I was next to a shallow body of water, so the show was twice as good — the colorful sky was reflected on the surface of that post.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Tree, In The Light

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Autumn Tree, In The Light
An autumn tree emerges from fog and haze in morning light

Autumn Tree, In The Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An autumn tree emerges from fog and haze in morning light.

I found this tree, still with full late-season fall color, standing in the middle of a pasture. (If you look very closely you just might be able to spot some cattle.) It was a very foggy morning — mostly quite gray and colorless — until the fog finally began to thin and filtered light started to break through.

It is easy to pass through California’s Great Central Valley and miss its beauty. It is true that the air can become stagnant and that freeway driving isn’t conducive to seeing beyond the traffic in front of you. But get off the main roads, drive a bit more slowly, start very early and stay out until the sun sets, and there is a lot to see.

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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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

Coots, Pond, Autumn Sky

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Coots, Pond, Autumn Sky
A flock of coots and autumn morning sky reflected in a wetland pond.

Coots, Pond, Autumn Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of coots and autumn morning sky reflected in a wetland pond.

Autumn and winter are my favorite seasons, especially but not exclusively for photography. In my part of the world these are the seasons for the most compelling light, the most interesting skies, and transitions of all sorts — the color transition of autumn, the shortening (and subsequent lengthening) of daylight hours, the quicker transitions between rain and sun and fog and wind.  Rather than waiting for those occasional special days, as one often does in the summer, I can just head out and be almost certain of finding something.

This morning was full of surprises. I was up and on the road hours before dawn, expecting to end up in a place full of thick tule fog, where I would photograph a sunrise obscured by this fog and then continue to photograph as it lightened and then cleared. But none of that happened. The weather forecasts were off, and instead it was almost completely clear of fog, opening expansive views to the morning sky. This sky was filled with the early clouds of an incoming Pacific weather front, with only a thin band of clear sky in the distance beyond the edge of the clouds. Shortly after the moment of sunrise, the still-low sun sent its light across the bottom of the cloud deck and the light caught the curving textures of the clouds, here reflected in the water of a pond.

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.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Killdeer

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Killdeer
A killdeer along the edge of a pond

Killdeer. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A killdeer along the edge of a pond

I’m increasingly interested in little birds like this killdeer, even though they may not seem so “special” due to their small size and appearance almost anywhere you might go. Heck, you could photograph a lot of birds like this one by going no further than your own backyard or a nearby park.

What they lack in “spectacular-ness,” they (sometimes more than) make up for in personality, not to mention that it is often possible to get quite close to them and observe them for a long time. This killdeer was content to go about its business less than ten feet from me as I quietly photographed from a position that partially hid me. It hopped, it fed, it flew a short distance, it turned around — all in all, it was quite adept at posing. It also is a rather attractive bird once you watch it a bit, especially with those interesting stripes of black and white on the head and neck, plus that subtle margin of striking red around the deep black eyes.

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