Tag Archives: sun

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Oak, Sky, and Sun

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Oak, Sky, and Sun
Oak, Sky, and Sun. Calero Hills, California. April 13, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sun rises above an oak tree on a grassy ridge in central California.

This is from one of the local oak/grassland areas that I visit regularly – hardly a week goes by when I don’t head over there and hike past this very spot in all seasons and all conditions. On this early spring morning the sun was just above the hillside to my east and the solitary oak was casting a long shadow across the slope of this grassy hill. (There is also a black and white version of this photograph that I like quite a bit.)

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Photographs: Death Valley

Light Beams Over the Panamint Mountains

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Light Beams Over the Panamint Mountains

Light Beams Over the Panamint Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light beams over the east face of the Panamint Mountains above Death Valley. Viewed from the east side of the Valley near Badwater.

I’ve been very lucky to encounter this phenomenon more than once when I’ve been in Death Valley. Although I know that most of the time it can be perfectly (too perfectly) clear there, I’ve seen clouds build over the Panamints in the afternoon during my April visits and then thin just enough late in the day to let these light beams shine through and illuminate the lower reaches of the Panamint Range.

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Photographs: Central California

Two Oak Trees, Morning

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Two Oak Trees, Morning

Two Oak Trees, Morning. Pacheco State Park, California. March 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two oak trees and grassland in morning light. This scene was photographed at Pacheco State Park on the top of the mountain range between Santa Clara Valley and California’s Great Central Valley. This park is a great place to see spring wildflowers, though the persistent winds can make photography challenging.

I always think of one other connection when I pass by this area or, better yet, stop and visit. When John Muir first travelled to the Sierra he came through this pass, and he marveled (as Muir frequently did) at the carpet of wildflowers extending into and across the valley in front of him. While we no longer see the sight the he described, during a few weeks each spring the wildflowers are thick enough that you can almost imagine it.

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Photographs: Central California

Calero Trail, Spring

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Calero Trail, Spring
Calero Trail, Spring. Calero Hills, California. March 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A spring morning on a hillside trail through oak grassland of the Calero Hills in central California. This is representative of the start of what I call “the impossibly green” season in central California when for perhaps a month the grasses, trees, and wildflowers go absolutely wild following the winter rains.

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