Tag Archives: silhouette

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Mountains, Morning Haze

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Desert Mountains, Morning Haze
Glowing morning haze delineates a series of ascending ridges in desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

Desert Mountains, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Glowing morning haze delineates a series of ascending ridges in desert mountains, Death Valley National Park.

Desert haze has become my friend. I used to be frustrated by it — the desert light I wanted was the crisp light of perfectly clear skies. I struggled with haze, with its effects on colors, its lower contrast, and its muted details. (To be honest, sometimes it still challenges me!) But, as is often the case, when I live with something for a while I start to figure out how to see it, and I often end up attracted to it. Now I actively search for just the right kind of soft atmospheric haze.

I had plenty of it on this morning. I was out before dawn, of course, and after finishing with my initial early morning subject I traveled to a higher location with immense and panoramic views of the landscape. The bright light beyond these mountains was making the haze luminous and almost eliminating fine details, leaving the outlines of the successive ridges receding toward the morning sky.

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

Winter Geese, Wetlands Dawn

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Winter Geese, Wetlands Dawn
Snow geese take to the air before sunrise above Central Valley wetlands.

Winter Geese, Wetlands Dawn. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Snow geese take to the air before sunrise above Central Valley wetlands.

The “fly-out” is one of the most impressive features of migratory goose behavior. At some point around dawn the birds leave their overnight nesting places and take to the sky in huge, dramatic groups that sometimes include many thousands of birds. It is hard to know precisely when it will happen, so you arrive early, find a likely spot, and wait for it.

On this morning I thought I had arrived in plenty of time, but a recalcitrant automated gate at the entrance to the area delayed my final arrival by perhaps ten minutes. Due to this slightly late start, I had little time to get into position before the fly-out occurred. Originally I had a plant to head to a particular location, but once I realized that the delay would make that improbable I stopped where I was — at the first pond full of geese — and assembled my gear… just barely in time to make this photograph.

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

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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: Nature

Tule Marsh, Fog

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Tule Marsh, Fog
A Central Valley tule marsh on a foggy winter day.

Tule Marsh, Fog. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

A Central Valley tule marsh on a foggy winter day.

My winter exploits photographing migratory birds often place me in beautiful landscape under spectacular skies and in the presence of remarkable flocks of thousands of geese and cranes. But that does not capture the totality of this experience. (News flash: the photographs we share most likely focus on best moments rather than typical moments.) On a cold, foggy Central Valley morning things can be gray and still, though it is rare that the sound of birds isn’t part of the experience.

I have an extensive background in music, and this has taught me something that can be missing from photography at times, namely that there are many kinds of beauty, and that not all of them yell at us for attention. Some are quiet and some, at least at first, may not even seem beautiful at all. I won’t try to explain what I find in this photographs — you’ll just have to trust me that it is there.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Morning, Desert Ridges

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Morning, Desert Ridges
Morning haze obscures the details of receding desert ridges and mountains.

Morning, Desert Ridges. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

Morning haze obscures the details of receding desert ridges and mountains.

Visits to places like this (and most travel, in my experience) have a sort of familiar life cycle. I’m fascinated by how many trips conclude. There’s something different about the final hours (or days on longer trips) when things are winding down and I begin to adapt to this. I was having that experience on this morning, the final one of my January Death Valley visit. As I went out to photograph, I didn’t wander too far from camp, and my mind was on packing up and the long drive I had ahead of me. I photographed one location that I had been meaning to get to and then I took a detour up into the hills before heading back to camp.

Although the day started at a location that I hadn’t really photographed, I ended up in this very familiar area. The location has a very long view of a large portion of the immense landscape of Death Valley. Even on a clear day — and this was a clear day — the haze still affects how we see the furthest distances. I paused here and made a series of photographs that used the haze to mute the details of the landscape. Then I was done. I headed to camp, finally had some breakfast, packed up, and headed home.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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