Tag Archives: tule

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tule Fog and Reflection

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Tule Fog and Reflection
“Tule Fog and Reflection” — Morning sunlight reflects on the surface of a wetland pond covered by winter tule fog.

After starting the morning in fog so thick that I could not see (or photograph), I stopped here along a levee road as the fog began to thin. I still couldn’t see much more than perhaps fifty yards along the ground, but the tule fog was shallow enough that light penetrated it and I could see the sky. As the sun rose above the Sierra it broke free of clouds and its light reflected on the surface of this pond.

Color in foggy conditions is a tricky thing. Looking into the foggy void, everything seems essentially gray. But the atmosphere picks up all sorts of colorations — the warm tones of sunrise light, the blue of the sky, and sometimes combinations of these things. Here the light took on a slightly pink quality that didn’t completely wash out the blue from the sky.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Old Tree, Sunrise

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Old Tree, Sunrise
“Old Tree, Sunrise” — Winter sun rises through tule fog behind an old tree along a Central Valley backroad.

Once again the weather reports predicted tule fog in the Central Valley, so I was up and on the road early. My hope was that I’d find more geese and cranes to photograph this time — there weren’t as many as I expected on my previous visit. At the same time, I knew that the wet conditions might diminish their numbers. It turned that this was the case, and there were almost none of the birds I came for in the morning. But there was fog!

It was almost a perfect foggy morning. Most of the drive was in clear air, but I hit heavy fog perhaps ten minutes from my destination, so thick that photography was initially a challenge. I photographed this tree later as the fog thinned. It still was around, but so close to the ground that the blue sky was visible above this sprawling old tree as the sun rose beyond.

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

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky

Reflection, Winter Sky

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Reflection, Winter Sky
“Reflection, Winter Sky” — Winter morning sky reflected on the surface of a foggy wetland pond, California Central Valley.

Part of what I like about this photograph of the reflection of winter sky in a wetland pond is that there is almost nothing solid in it — aside from some scattered plants in the pond it is entirely sky, clouds, water, and reflections. There is almost a horizon out there somewhere, but it is hard to detect since it is obscured by tule fog.

Although there’s little in the photograph to rule out other options, the location happens to be in Central Valley wetlands. In good years, rainfall fills these ponds in the winter through early spring, and areas of solid summer ground become lakes, some quite large. They are more than a visual marvel — winter birds and, later, spring plants rely on their annual formation.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Grasslands, Winter Morning

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Grasslands, Winter Morning
“Grasslands, Winter Morning” — A foggy winter morning in a region of grasslands and vernal pools in California’s Central Valley.

One of my favorite John Muir stories concerns how he first traveled to the Sierra. He Walked! From the Bay Area! From what I recall he went via Pacheco Pass (today’s state route 152) before entering the Great Central Valley. I often take this route when heading east, so I’m frequently reminded of his journey. Concerning his arrival in the Valley he wrote,” “At my feet lay the Great Central Valley of California, level and flowery, like a lake of pure sunshine, forty or fifty miles wide, five hundred miles long, one rich furred garden of yellow Compositae.”

It is difficult to imagine what he experienced at a time when the Valley was a quiet, largely unpopulated place. Today it focuses on agriculture and business and the rapidly increasing populations in towns and cities along highways 99 and 5. But occasionally, in the right places, you can sometimes find yourself where it is possible to imagine an immense, still, quiet landscape in that valley.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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