Tag Archives: sky

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Cliff, Snow and Ice

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Cliff, Snow and Ice
Snow and ice encrust the granite face of cliffs near Glacier Point

Cliff, Snow and Ice. Yosemite Valley, California. February 26, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Snow and ice encrust the granite face of cliffs near Glacier Point

I made this photograph within the first few minutes after dawn and as the first light came over the Sierra to the east to touch the rim of Yosemite Valley near Glacier Point. The rugged cliff face below the summit was still in shadow, and it would remain that way for a long time, especially on a winter day like this one when the sun never rises very high in the sky. As I looked up at this view I thought back to a few times in the past when I’ve skied out to Glacier Point and looked down at the spot where I was standing on this morning.

This is a very rugged fact, crisscrossed by fractures and ledges in many places. On this morning some recent snow was still plastered to the rocks, and where water flowed from melting snow and then froze there were large patches of ice. In a few places the rock is red, I presume possibly from either some sort of seepage or perhaps from lichen. The tone of the scene is quite blue since the only light is from that gigantic blue light panel we call the 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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Birds, Fog, Dawn

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Birds, Fog, Dawn
Birds fly over foggy Central Valley wetlands at dawn on a winter day

Birds, Fog, Dawn. Central Valley, California. January 28, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Birds fly over foggy Central Valley wetlands at dawn on a winter day

It is only the last day of March… and I’m already missing these winter wetlands with fog and the sound of birds. These places are found up and down California’s Great Central Valley, and each has its own personality. I know I can find eagles at one, night herons at another, cranes at several of them, and huge flocks of Ross’s and snow geese and yet another.

In my view, the best days at these refuges begin before dawn. The air should be cold — at or just below freezing is about right — and there must be at least some fog in the air. I favor thick fog that gradually clears as the morning develops, though on this morning it was thinning even as the sunrise began. The raucous sounds of the birds — mostly geese and cranes — are everywhere, and here and there small groups take off and fly past. If a faint view of the High Sierra emerges, as in this photograph, it is even better.

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: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

D8 Crane, Night

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D8 Crane, Night
The D8 crane at night, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard

D8 Crane, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, California. March 11, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The D8 crane at night, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard

As all who photographer there know, these huge crane are among the primary iconic elements of the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard. Their size makes them visible from many places including the opposite shore in the town of Vallejo across the harbor. Their appearance is striking, especially at night, when their organic forms are usually lit from below, especially now that they are once again in use as part of a project to dismantle the ships of the old “ghost fleet” that was long moored near the Carquinez Bridge.

Their reactivation has created some photographic opportunities that were rarely available when I first began photographing at Mare Island a dozen or more years ago. Back then the cranes, which can be moved around the dry docks along a system or railway tracks, were often parked in inaccessible locations and seldom well-lit. But on this visit we found two of them had been moved out from behind the security fences and along a closed roadway. We were able to photograph them close-up and from a range of positions and angles. Each has a sort of personality. The closest one is bright yellow in the artificial light, while the further crane has a dark and weathered appearance.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Utah

Utah Aspen Grove, Fall

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Utah Aspen Grove, Fall
A thin stand of autumn aspen trees, Dixie National Forest

Utah Aspen Grove, Fall. Dixie National Forest, Utah. October 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A thin stand of autumn aspen trees, Dixie National Forest

This is another photograph of those beautiful, tall, nearly straight aspen trees — a growth pattern that I don’t see so often here in the California Sierra Nevada, but which is very common in Utah. These trees are probably near the end of their autumn color phase, even though I made the photograph near the beginning of October. It seems that the fall color comes a bit sooner here! (At higher elevations, almost all of the aspen color was already gone by the end of the first week of October.)

The photograph suggests several thoughts to me. First, that photographing aspens during so-called peak color is not the only option. The trees actually pass through a transition that can be photographed at almost any point, from the first hints of color, through the peak, and right on through to the time when few leaves are left. In fact, it may be possible to work the light a bit more later on. Second, while the early and late light is often best, it is possible to photograph this and other subjects during the main part of the day. I made this photograph in the afternoon as some high clouds passed overhead and softened the light. Finally, Utah’s public wild lands are under threat today, including from some misguided Utah legislators who seem to think that the profits of a small group of extraction industry corporations are more important than ensuring the protection of these features — to the extent that they are calling for reducing the area of existing national lands and the take-back of others. One group that works to protect such places is the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Consider supporting their work.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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