Tag Archives: trees

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Winter Fog, Ridges

February 3, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter fog wraps around the lower slopes of Marin County mountains along the Pacific coast north of San Francisco

This was the sort of day of photography that I have learned to accept as something that comes with the territory. I was up hours before dawn, and on the road shortly after that, with an idea of photographing in the redwoods of Marin County north of the Golden Gate, or perhaps of photographing along the coast where high surf was predicted. As I got on the road I noticed that there was some fog about, which is fine as I often like photographing in such conditions. Nearly an hour later as the time of sunrise approached, I noticed that the day was not becoming light very fast and, in fact, things were looking quite gray. I crossed the Golden Gate in fog, stopped briefly on the north side of the bridge, and wasn’t able to see much of anything. I continued on to the Muir Woods area and parked. As I sat in the car, it became clear that there wasn’t going to be much in the way of compelling light here, either. (I’m not one to insist on incredible light, so when I say that the light wasn’t promising… I mean it!) I soon decided to leave and go up the coast a ways. As I drove I figured out that the murky light was the result of a combination of thick coastal fog, generally hazy conditions where it wasn’t foggy, and above it all the high clouds of a passing weather front.

While finding myself in conditions like these doesn’t exactly make me happy – who wouldn’t prefer beautiful light and easy subjects!? – I don’t get upset about it any more. In order to find really special subjects and light one must simply go “out there” a lot to increase the odds. Special things are special at least partially because they are not ordinary, and we cannot expect stupendous conditions on every outing. I shoot enough to have had the good fortune to almost regularly encounter truly wonderful conditions and to have some idea how to work with conditions that are merely good. But along with this good, I also have to accept the possibility – certainty, actually – that there will be some days when it seems like nothing happens. This was one of those days. I enjoyed being out and about, and I explored a few places that I had not visited before. I gave up on some ideas, tried others, and when the light was clearly not going to be good in the forest, I headed for the coast. When that didn’t work, I headed into the hills. It was what it was! Eventually, I ended up at the Mount Tamalpais State Park high in the Marin hills, and around one bend in the road the view opened to the west and I could see the ocean of fog bumping up against ridges below me and stretching on out over the ocean – so I stopped and made the only photographs of the day that worked. It wasn’t a great day… but it was still a good day!

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Pines and Sandstone Cliff

January 26, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A sparse forest of pine trees in front of a towering sandstone cliff, Zion National Park

This could be one of those “don’t forget to look around” photographs – a reminder to look beyond the most obvious thing that you (and others) might have stopped for. The photograph is from Zion National Park, made on my late October visit when we passed through on the way to shoot further east in Utah. The specific location is a well-known automobile pull-out that features a large and impressive nearby geological feature, with signage around the parking lot mostly about that thing. And it is an interesting and worthy site, but one that I’ve struggled to see as a photograph. In fact, the whole area right near here has been a bit this way – a very interesting place where I’ve stopped a few times, but also one where I’ve had a difficult time seeing how to photograph the attractive features found here.

From this location, trees growing on a middle-distance rise can be seen. I’ve also looked at them before and wondered how or whether they could make a photograph. Those trees are the trees in this photograph. What seemed different this time was the result of interesting and changing lighting conditions. The light was coming from the side and a bit behind the trees, so it highlighted the branches and even created just a tiny bit of that glow that I often look for with this subject. In addition, there were broken clouds about, and they were being blown past fairly quickly by a brisk wind – so the light was in a constant state of change. One moment the trees were in a cloud shadow, and the next they were in sun. When they were in sun, the foreground and background might be in sun, too, or in shade, or even some combination of the two. I love these conditions since so many things are (fleetingly) possible with the light. My approach is to make some guesses about what might with the light, find a composition that I think will work, and then pay careful attention to what is happening. This photograph was exposed during a lucky instant when the clouds shaded the background sandstone cliff, and the slightly cloud-muted sun shone on the trees.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Davenport Bluffs, Sunset

January 15, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

The last light shines on coastal bluffs and Davenport, California

On this early December day I had gone off to try to join a G+ “photowalk” that was purportedly taking place that day. I was looking forward to going to a few favorite local photography locations and to meeting some people who I’ve only known online. But it was not to be! I ended up being delayed at home and couldn’t leave in time to meet the group at their first location, Henry Cowell Park. I went with Plan B and figured I would try to join up with them at lunch in Davenport. I got there and didn’t see anyone, so I figured that I was early and I drove up the coast a bit. I came back to Davenport and thought they might be in one of the two restaurants, so I picked one and went in for lunch… by myself. (I found out later that, yes, they were in the other restaurant a hundred yards south.) After lunch I went across the road to the parking area when I thought folks might meet up, but still no luck – though I did see a few photographers out on the nearby bluff. I headed out there and finally ran into a couple of people from the group… which had gone down to a nearby beach area to shoot.

Finding interesting stuff up here on the bluff, I decide to work the location I found myself in rather than heading off and looking for something else. While the location was interesting, the light was initially unpromising. However, I thought there was a chance that things might improve later so I walked around and began doing some shooting. At one point, I talked to some other photographers about the somewhat bland lighting conditions and pointed out that it seemed to me that there was at least a chance that we might get a bit of interesting light as the sun dropped to the horizon, when the light can sometimes shine in below the clouds and produce some brief but beautiful conditions. This prediction turned out to be right, and I made this photograph just as the show was beginning, and warm-tone light was starting to hit the bluffs, beaches, and water.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Ross’s Geese, Golden Hour Fly-Out

January 11, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Ross’s geese take wing during the sunset fly-out, San Joaquin Valley, California

As happens often enough to make things interesting, the light at the end of this day of less-than-phenomenal light momentarily made up for some of the earlier “blah” light. It had been a good day of goose (and crane) chasing, but with few moments of sublime light so far. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since even when the light is not at its most astonishing out here, the air and the sound of the birds still makes it worthwhile, especially when a large flock of geese suddenly lifts off in unison or when the sound of cranes floats down as they coast overhead.

But still, we want that light! Just before sunset, as the hazy sky was already starting to dim, the last sun slanted in from the west at a low angle just as this flock of geese was beginning to fly out for the night. I made this photograph just a moment after the foreground group had taken to the air, but while other groups that had lifted off earlier were still visible beyond them as they departed over the grove of trees to the north.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: trees

Winter Fog, Ridges

Davenport Bluffs, Sunset

Ross’s Geese, Golden Hour Fly-Out

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.