Tag Archives: snow

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens, Autumn Snow

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Aspens, Autumn Snow
A morning snow squall above a grove of autumn aspen trees, Sierra Nevada.

Aspens, Autumn Snow. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A morning snow squall above a grove of autumn aspen trees, Sierra Nevada.

Since it is now July, it seems about time to start dreaming of autumn color, right? I always start thinking of fall color at about this point in summer. I’m not sure if this is a reaction against the hot weather season or just my natural inclination to always feel that my favorite season is the one that is coming next. On a ninety-degree day here in my (relatively cool!) part of California, I have to say that these conditions look pretty appealing right about now!

If I recall correctly, I made this photograph on a morning when it seemed that the conditions were conspiring against me. I had arrived here very early, well before sunrise, and in the faint light I could see that the aspens were thick with colorful leaves. As I started to prepare in the near-darkness a sudden squall swept through — the wind suddenly picked up, the temperature dropped, it began snowing, and I retreated to my vehicle. As it began to clear I realized that perhaps half of the leaves had blown of the trees, but the new dusting of snow on the ridge was compensation.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon

Evening Dunes

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Evening Dunes
Soft early-evening light on san dunes as the last sun strike distant desert mountains.

Evening Dunes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft early-evening light on sand dunes as the last sun strikes distant desert mountains.

Photographers (and other creatives) understand that their perspective on their own work will always differ from those of others. It cannot be any other way. Only the photographer — that’s me! — knows the circumstances and experiences of making the image. No one else can ever see the photograph the way I do or know all of the associations it evokes. Perhaps this is a reason that we tell stories about photographs. We hope to fill in some of what the photograph alone cannot tell.

So, some backstory: This was the first time I visited at this semi-remote desert location. I planned to photograph in the evening, camp nearby that night, and photograph again in the morning. My camp was a bit more than a half hour walk from the location, and this was the very last photograph I made that evening. Astute observers (and fellow photographers) may wonder: “Why did you stop when that light was still on the mountains?” Well… I was there to photograph the dunes. It was extremely windy and the low light was becoming more of a problem. The light on the mountains was beautiful, but there wasn’t a photograph there. And I had a long walk back to my camp, alone and across terrain that I had not visited before.

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

Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains

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Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains
Morning sun on the eastern face of the Panamint Mountains.

Morning Sun, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning sun on the eastern face of the Panamint Mountains.

The light on this morning was interesting, a bit softer than expected due to thin clouds to the east that muted the colors and contrast a bit, plus a bit of the ubiquitous Death Valley haze. I made the photograph back in late January, so it isn’t a big surprise to see a dusting of snow on the higher peaks along the ridge of the Panamint Mountains.

The Panamint Mountains stand along the western side of Death Valley and are a remarkable range in many ways — their scale, the human history they contain, and their relative inaccessibility. While humans have, no doubt, appeared from time to time in this slice of landscape, it is a forbidding place and not one traversed easily. From Valley floor to the highest peaks is over 11,000′ feet, and the terrain between the two is immense and rugged.

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

Snow Geese, Wetland Pond

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Snow Geese, Wetland Pond
A row of migratory snow geese at rest in a Central Valley wetland pond.

Snow Geese, Wetland Pond. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A row of migratory snow geese at rest in a Central Valley wetland pond.

Coming across this little line of snow geese was good fortune. One thing is clear when photographing wildlife, and even more clear when photographing birds: the photographer has little control over the scene and must make the best of what turns up. (OK, there are ways to improve your chances, but geese are notoriously bad at taking stage directions.) It isn’t unusual to find small groups of geese, but finding a group lined up this was was serendipitous.

This is one of the photographs that I think of as “birdscapes” — while they are wildlife photographs, they are more about the place of the wildlife in their surroundings. A closer look shows that there’s a lot more here than the geese. Just beyond the edge of the water there is a row of sandhill cranes, whose darker colors make them a bit harder to see at first. There are trees on the horizon, but also indicators of this being agricultural country and not at all “wilderness,” In the far distance geese fill the sky, and the bands of clouds beyond them are above the faint outline of the crest of the Sierra Nevada.

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.