Tag Archives: sun

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Forest and Cliffs

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Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Yosemite Forest and Cliffs. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Another recently-shared photograph included three trees, the base of El Capitan, and the lower reaches of the creek that produces Horsetail Fall. In that post I mentioned that the camera position was a fruitful one, and that I had made several photographs from nearly the same spot on this visit to Yosemite. You would need guess from the very different subject, but this photograph comes from the same spot. I’m sure that I did not move the camera more than a few yards between the two photographs, though I did swing it around by about 180 degrees.

This row of trees, conifers mixed with deciduous trees at this elevation, stood at the edge of a partially flooded meadow along the Merced River. Places like this allow longer view that what we typically see within the forest, and from here the view included some of the monumental cliffs of surrounding the valley. In this rendition I cropped tightly around the trees to bring the focus on them.

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

Sunrise, Wetlands

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Sunrise, Wetlands
Winter sun rising through morning clouds is reflected in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

Sunrise, Wetlands. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Winter sun rising through morning clouds is reflected in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

This is a photograph from the same morning that produced another sunrise photograph I recently shared — one with the sun a bit lower and cranes flying above. Usually I might be disappointed to find morning clouds above the distant Sierra Nevada, but this time they were just thick/thin enough to be an advantage. The muted the intensity of the direct sun. I made this photograph just as the sun moved above a thicker band of clouds.

The foreground expanse of water obviously reflects the sunrise light and colors, but the closest portions reflect other clouds higher in the sky and less colorful. In the middle a large group of sandhill cranes stands in the shallow water.

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

Cranes, Sunrise, Winter Sky

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Cranes, Sunrise, Winter Sky
“Cranes, Sunrise, Winter Sky” — Sandhill cranes fly in winter sky as sun rises above the Sierra Nevada.

For weeks I have been thinking about how little time remains before many of our migratory birds depart. I have been eyeing my schedule and the weather conditions looking for the right time to go look for the birds. Ideally I want fog, but that has been missing, first due to a string of very warm days and more recently to unusually cold and wet weather. So I stopped waiting for the perfect conditions that might not arrive, and I headed out to the Central Valley before the cold arrived.

I never know precisely what conditions I’ll encounter. On this visit I knew that forecasts predicted an incoming weather system. Fortunately the early clouds only improved the visual conditions. (Later it clouded up, but then it cleared well before sunset — sometimes I get lucky!) It is easy to point the camera at the rising sun out here, but usually that isn’t so productive since the light overwhelms everything else. But on this morning the sun rose into clouds that muted its intensity. I made this photograph as a flock of sandhill cranes flew past.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Holly in the Sun

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Holly in the Sun
A desert holly plant in sunlight, growing in a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Holly in the Sun. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A desert holly plant in sunlight, growing in a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Last week I made my first visit of the year to Death Valley National Park. I like to photograph there during the winter and again at the very beginning of spring. Despite the reputation of the place, it can be quite cold there in January, and I experienced a few windy and chilly moments. I made this photograph near the furthest point in a pleasant wander up a lovely wash that I happened into more or less by accident. I was near a ridge and the slanting afternoon light was still just catching the branches of this desert holly plant.

The circumstances of this afternoon’s walk were a reminder about one of the best ways to encounter the wild. I had gone out to scout a location for the next day’s dawn photography, and from my selected location I saw a small canyon dropping away. I almost didn’t enter it, but finally decide to walk “just a few feet” in to investigate. I did, and soon came to a junction with a much larger wash, and I couldn’t resist exploring. I started up, eventually going 15 minutes past my turn-around time, and finally ending up in a narrow, constricted, dark… and altogether fascinating little stretch of canyon that I need to explore again.

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.