Tag Archives: trees

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Winter Trees

Image January 21, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This photo was made in my “backyard,” relatively speaking, of the hills south of Silicon Valley. This morning it was very foggy here, and when it looked like the fog might stick around I grabbed my camera gear and headed out to see what opportunities might await. I did photograph some foggy subjects (photos will appear here before long) but eventually I wandered up an old rural road that I hadn’t visited in years.

California’s winter climate can seem quite strange to out-of-staters. In most of the state, except for the high mountains and desert areas, the latter part of winter is our green season. And now, in late January, it has begun again in Northern California. As I drove up this little road, new grass was turning the hillsides green, and there were leaves on some trees. I stopped at a wide spot to photograph the delightfully complex silhouette of this tree in hazy sunlight.

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.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Trees, Sunrise Fog

Image January 13, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

If I could illustrate the conditions for my ideal morning of winter photography in California’s Central Valley, this morning would tell the story. It was cold and damp, and the fog started out thick enough that it was difficult to drive. There were birds about — geese, cranes, and the other usual suspects. The fog was thick but not deep — while it was difficult to see a hundred feet forward, the sky was visible overhead. The fog began to thin a bit at sunrise, and the glow of the sun shone faintly through the murk.

When a few thousand geese take to the air at once in a frenzy of beating wings and sound, it can momentarily be quite exciting out here. But more often things move very slowly. The fog drifts. The sound of birds are heard in the distance. The cool, damp air shifts gradually, The sun slowly rises. A winter tree is silhouetted against the soft light.

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

Migratory Geese, Wetlands

Image January 11, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Our little band of photographers gathered once again on New Year’s Day to greet the new year together and photograph migratory birds and the often-foggy Central Valley landscape. This photograph holds what I think of as the main elements of this winter landscape: birds, a bit of fog, sky, trees, and grasses. (OK, cattle and crops are part of the scene, but not in this photograph.)

There are various natural cycles to observe when photographing these birds. The most obvious is annual — they return from the arctic every autumn and around the start of spring. There’s a cycle during that period, too. At first they are often harder to find, settling into remote areas of the valley and being more uneasy around humans. As the season goes on they seem to be a bit easier to locate as they collect in gigantic flocks, and the become extremely active in the final month before their departure for points north.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Heidelberg Castle, Bridge, and Altstadt

Image January 10, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Heidelberg is almost always our “home base” when we travel to Europe, annd our trips frequently start with a visit to our relatives there. At this point we almost feel like we know the place, at least their neighborhood and the Altstadt area in the photograph. The “old town” area stretches along the Neckar river and includes several features visible in the photograph — the “old bridge” (or Alte Brücke) and the Heidelberg castle, among htem. I made the photograph from the Philosophenweg, or philosopher’s way, a footpath in the hills next to the river.

Our previous visits have been in the summer, when the weather in this part of Europe is pretty warm. This time, however, we went at the end of autumn and it was distinctly wintry! Temperatures hovered around freezing, it was cloudy virtually the entire time, and we even had brief snow!

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: trees

Winter Trees

Winter Trees, Sunrise Fog

Migratory Geese, Wetlands

Heidelberg Castle, Bridge, and Altstadt

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