Tag Archives: sky

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Spring Cloudburst

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Spring Cloudburst
A spring cloudburst moves across a Southern California grassland landscape.

Spring Cloudburst. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A spring cloudburst moves across a Southern California grassland landscape.

At the end of March we detoured though mountains west of the San Joaquin Valley on our way home from Death Valley, looking for grasslands where the spring wildflower bloom was starting. After a few false starts — two dead-ends that forced us to turn around and try different routes — we finally made it to this big valley where wet years produce an immense carpet of wildflowers.

The tail end of a weather system was passing through, producing conditions that are common here in the spring — mixed sun and rain, sudden cloudbursts, and fascinating light. A downpour darkens the sky against a background of intense sunlight on the rain and distant clouds, elements that almost completely drained the scene of color.

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: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Shadows on the Plain

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Shadows on the Plain
Cloud shadows move across Carrizo Plain and the hills of the Temblor Range.

Shadows on the Plain. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Cloud shadows move across Carrizo Plain and the hills of the Temblor Range.

This year we only had a few hours to visit the Carrizo Plain, where wildflowers emerge for a few weeks in astonishing abundance during wet springs. We extended our Death Valley trip by a day so that we could loop though the National Monument on the way home. Road conditions delayed our arrival a bit, and rain showers were passing through when we got there, but as it cleared we could see extensive fields of flowers extending across the valley and rising into the hills.

There’s a special significance to the hills in this photograph. This is the escarpment of the great San Andreas fault, which runs thought this part of the state like a giant scar. The terrain is rough and displaced by the lateral movement of eons of earthquakes… and softened here by a garland of yellow flowers.

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 | Twitter | 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: Agriculture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Orchard, Morning Fog

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Orchard, Morning Fog
Morning fog begins to form about a Central Valley orchard.

Orchard, Morning Fog. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning fog begins to form about a Central Valley orchard.

While I think this may be just about the last photograph to emerge from this season’s trips to photograph migratory birds, there’s always a chance that I’ll return to the file archive and find another. During this early March trip to California’s Central Valley the birds were more widely dispersed than usual, and I found myself looking for other subjects late in the morning. That took me to nearby agricultural country and the Valley’s immense orchards.

I saw this orchard in the distance as I drove down a (sort of) main road, so I found a turn-off onto a beaten-up old side road that took me that direction. A fog bank was developing as I approached, and it dramatically darkened the sky beyond the trees full of white blossoms.

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 | Twitter | 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: Birds, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Cranes, Blue Sky

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Two Cranes, Blue Sky
Two sandhill cranes in flight against blue winter sky.

Two Cranes, Blue Sky. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two sandhill cranes in flight against blue winter sky.

Two sandhill cranes fly against late-winter blue sky, a few weeks before their annual migration takes them back to the arctic. My “season” for photographing migratory birds in Central California lasts from roughly November into early March, spanning the time from the first arrival of geese to their departure, along with that of the cranes. This photograph comes from what will likely be my last such photographs of the season.

It is not easy to get photographs of cranes flying nearly overhead. They often change their course as they approach in order to avoid flying over me. But with some luck and abundant patience, eventually some of them will come close enough, as this pair did.

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 | Twitter | 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.