Tag Archives: san joaquin

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands, Dawn Fog

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Wetlands, Dawn Fog
“Wetlands, Dawn Fog” — Dawn fog obscures the view of a wetlands pond in California’s Central Valley.

Have I mentioned how much I like photographing fog? Why, yes, I have! Fog can make almost any subject mysterious and moody. Even a banal urban or natural scene can become magical under its influence. This is especially true in places like this, an agricultural landscape that otherwise includes utilitarian elements — cattle barns, power lines, buildings with lights, roads. But fog mutes those distractions and leaves us with just atmosphere, light, color, and bits of solid reality. The landscape becomes less literal, and we fill in our own stories.

It was initially too foggy (and too dark!) to photograph here, so I just headed out to potential locations and watched to see what would happen. Tule fog is often shallow, and I could see high clouds as the sunrise colors suffused the fog as it began to thin. The density of fog adds up across distance, and here makes it impossible to tell where the land and water end and the sky begins.

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

Foggy Wetlands Sunrise

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Foggy Wetlands Sunrise
“Foggy Wetlands Sunrise” — Winter sun rises above the distant Sierra Nevada and fog-shrouded Central Valley wetlands.

I made this photograph of a foggy wetlands sunrise during a late January visit to California’s Central Valley. The main draw was the prospect of photographing migratory birds, but I chose the day because of the tule fog. I love photographing in the Valley on winter tule fog days — the fog turns the agricultural landscape into something magical. I made all the photographs in the series over perhaps a one-hour span and within a half mile of each other.

The fog was so thick when I arrived before sunrise that it was too dark to photograph. I got my gear ready, finished my coffee, and then set off into the gloom to find good location to watch it begin to clear. It wasn’t long before I came to a spot where the fog was thinning. The timing was perfect as the sun was just rising above the distant Sierra Nevada, with colorful and diffused light above the ponds.

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: Wildlife

Two Cranes, Reflection

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Two Cranes, Reflection
“Two Cranes, Reflection” — Two sandhill cranes and their reflections in a wetland pond.

Sandhill cranes have the remarkable ability to look both comically clumsy (watch them land!) and remarkably graceful. This pair managed to produce the latter impression as they crossed paths in a shallow wetland pond. It helped that they were between me and the sun, placing their reflection in the water in front of them.

Sandhill cranes are remarkable birds and have become my favorites among the migratory birds I photograph . They are here between autumn and late winter in large numbers. Their characteristic cry is one of the defining features of my winter photography experience. One of the best moments comes when they return at dusk. I hear their cries before I see them, but soon hundreds arrive and land for the night.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Levee Road and Tree

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Levee Road and Tree
“Levee Road and Tree” — A tree next to a foggy levee road under winter morning sky.

My plan was to photograph birds migratory birds on this foggy Central Valley morning. But the fog was so thick when I arrived that I couldn’t even seen the birds. And then, as the fog began to thin, the light was so beautiful — and the birds still so scarce — that I ended up mostly making landscape photographs. I made this one when the shallow fog had cleared enough to reveal the early morning sky, even though the fog bank still covered the landscape beyond the levee road and tree.

I visit this place often at this time of year — a rather nondescript part of the Central Valley. It isn’t just that it’s not the sort of place you would notice as you drove past — it is so far off the beaten track that the odds are you would never even go there. But after years of poking around here I have come to love the landscape, especially on foggy winter mornings like this.

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.