Tag Archives: tule

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands Sunrise

Image Leave a comment
“Wetlands Sunrise” — Tule fog clears above Central Valley wetlands at dawn.

Despite experiencing a couple of brilliant sunrises on our New Year’s photo jaunt, I had not shared any intensely colorful sunrise photographs. It is time. We arrived here in foggy pre-dawn darkness on New Year’s Day, assembled our gear, and headed out on a network of levee roads through wetlands terrain. Before long we came to a spot where the fog had thinned and we had a clearer view to the east. We stopped and photographed the landscape and the intense pre-sunrise sky.

The experience of being out here before sunrise is profoundly removed from our day-to-day experience. Here time moves slowly or even seems to stop. The tule fog thins, leaving behind a faint, soft mist. Flocks of geese and cranes rise and circle, their cries echoing across the landscape. The light gradually increases in the eastern sky and here the outline of the distant Sierra Nevada is visible along the horizon.

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 | BlueSky | Email

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

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Islands, Clearing Fog

Image Leave a comment
“Islands, Clearing Fog” — Morning sun on reed-covered islands and wetland pond.

Sometimes landscape photography is slow and contemplative — the landscape stands almost still and there is time to pause and consider. But sometimes the landscape changes as quickly as any other subject, and transient conditions only last a moment. This was one of the latter moments. Thick tule fog had blanketed my position, but it quickly cleared above this pond, and brilliant light struck the little grass-covered islands.

Fog can fundamentally alter a landscape. Sometimes it simply mutes more distant subjects and allows foreground elements to stand out. It can also lend a sense of quiet mystery to otherwise mundane scenes. It may just sit there, changing little for long periods of time. And then, suddenly, the sunlight begins to break through and all kinds of beautiful effects of light may appear.

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 | BlueSky | Email

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

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Trees, Sunrise Fog

Image Leave a comment
“Winter Trees, Sunrise Fog” — Winter trees silhouetted against sunrise sky as tule fog begins to thin.

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.

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 | BlueSky | Email

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

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Migratory Geese, Wetlands

Image Leave a comment
“Migratory Geese, Wetlands”  Migratory geese (likely snow, Ross’s, and white-fronted) in Central California wetlands.

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.

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 | BlueSky | Email

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

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.