Tag Archives: tree

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

Tree, Boulders, and Shoreline

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Tree, Boulders, and Shoreline
An old, gnarled tree grows among shoreline boulders, Yosemite National Park.

Tree, Boulders, and Shoreline. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old, gnarled tree grows among shoreline boulders, Yosemite National Park.

This photograph comes from a short trip to a popular Yosemite National Park backcountry lake more than a decade ago. It was the very beginning of autumn, and I managed to squeeze in a short escape between back-to-college meetings and the start of a new academic term. A group of fellow photographers was beginning a back-country stay of a bit more than a week, so I decided to join them for the first few days. (It turned out that my need to leave early was perhaps fortuitous — they reported to me that a few days after my departure an early season snow storm came in and dropped temperatures as low as five degrees!)

Autumn is the quiet season in the Sierra, or at least it was a decade ago. The summer crowds begin to thin after Labor Day, and by the end of September and the first half of October the backcountry seems almost deserted. It is a time to sit quietly and take in the scene before the winter snow arrives.

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

Yellow-Headed Blackbird

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Yellow-Headed Blackbird
“Yellow-Headed Blackbird” — A yellow-headed blackbird perched on the branch of a Central Valley tree.

This bird was a bit of a surprise. Some large cottonwood trees packed full with a flock of tai-colored blackbirds caught my attention. I pulled over and got out the long lens and began to photograph dense groups of those birds. But as I looked through the telephoto I realized that not all of the birds were the same. Two in particular didn’t quite fit — this yellow-headed blackbird and a nearby European starling.

While the tri-colored blackbirds were clumped closely together in a wildly-singing flock, this bird perched just a bit to the side. It was close enough to initially look like part of the boisterous group, but just far enough away to make a case that “I’m not one of those loud birds!”

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

Leaves in Rain

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Leaves in Rain, Portland
“Leaves in Rain” — Leaves in rain, Portland, Oregon.

Californians have been dealing with strange weather patterns for more than a decade now — a five-year drought, a few years of way above average rainfall, and then the current season that has been almost completely rainless up until now. As I write this the pendulum is apparently about the swing the other direction, and the forecasts for my part of the state predict an “atmospheric river” storm later this week that has the potential to bring absurd amounts of rain over the course of a few days. It seems to be feast or famine, though the amount of recent rain famine has been the biggest concern.

While this photograph is evocative of the weather we’re about to have, it comes from a naturally wetter place a few hundred miles to the north, namely Portland, Oregon. On a spring visit a few years back we ended up in one of that cities urban parks on a cloudy and wet day, and as we wandered though gardens I stopped to photograph these leaves.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes and Tree, Tule Fog

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Sandhill Cranes and Tree, Tule Fog
“Sandhill Cranes and Tree, Tule Fog” — A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in a wetland pond in front of a solitary tree in winter tule fog.

Sometimes the way that photographs come into existence seems strange. We put a lot of effort into doing all the things that increase the chances of success — practice, learn technique, develop our ability to see, take care to have the appropriate equipment, go to the locations where photographs are possible, time things correctly, and more. All of these are efforts, I think, to diminish the role of chance. Or, perhaps giving ourselves a bit more credit, steps that increase the odds that we’ll be able to take advantage of good fortune when it comes to us.

The series of recent photographs of sandhill cranes in fog is an example of this dynamic. They certainly involved all of those controllable factors that I listed in the previous paragraph. But I can’t help but acknowledge what it means to create a series of photographs from, literally, not more than a few minutes (perhaps a half hour?) in one spot on one particular morning. Aside from the fact that I knew it was possible that I’d find a scene like this, it was not exactly predictable. The weather could easily have been different, the birds could have been elsewhere, I might have chosen a different day to be there. Yet, on this morning it came together and this series of photographs was the result.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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