Tag Archives: silhouette

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetland Pond and Trees, Dawn

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Wetland Pond and Trees, Dawn
“Wetland Pond and Trees, Dawn” — A line of trees along a levee between wetland ponds silhouetted against winter Central Valley sunrise sky. with the Sierra Nevada in the distance.

I made this photograph in a quiet corner of a place where I often photograph in winter. Trees grow along a levee separating a small pond from a much larger body of water where migratory birds sometimes land. I had a brief window of sunrise light on this morning, as clouds from an arriving weather system moved overhead and on toward the east, darkening the sky except for a narrow strip above the distant Sierra Nevada.

I have photographed these trees before, though in quite different light. Birds often are found here, though not typically the larger geese and cranes. (By good luck, a line of geese passed along the trees as I made the exposure, but you might have to look for them.) More common birds are the various “little brown birds,” plus some raptors and the occasional owl.

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

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.

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.

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

Winter Birds, Virga

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Winter Birds, Virga
“Winter Birds, Virga” — Migratory geese in flight against virga sky, Central Valley.

An incoming storm from was just beginning to make its presence known on this morning. The front would not arrive until that night, but high clouds were already producing virga — rain that fails to fall all the way to the ground. I made the photograph as a group of migratory geese passed in front of a cloud lit by early morning light.

I’m going to give away a secret about this photograph and some others that I have made. Because I used a very long lens, I was able to isolate a small, interesting section of the sky. I frequently see small, distant, and very interesting things in the landscape. When this happens I like to use long lenses to extract them from the larger scene.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Old Tree, Sunrise

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Old Tree, Sunrise
“Old Tree, Sunrise” — Winter sun rises through tule fog behind an old tree along a Central Valley backroad.

Once again the weather reports predicted tule fog in the Central Valley, so I was up and on the road early. My hope was that I’d find more geese and cranes to photograph this time — there weren’t as many as I expected on my previous visit. At the same time, I knew that the wet conditions might diminish their numbers. It turned that this was the case, and there were almost none of the birds I came for in the morning. But there was fog!

It was almost a perfect foggy morning. Most of the drive was in clear air, but I hit heavy fog perhaps ten minutes from my destination, so thick that photography was initially a challenge. I photographed this tree later as the fog thinned. It still was around, but so close to the ground that the blue sky was visible above this sprawling old tree as the sun rose beyond.

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.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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