Tag Archives: usa

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Tree, Fog, Dawn Sky

March 14, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dawn light on a solitary tree in a foggy pasture under morning clouds, San Joaquin Valley, California

Spring seemed to arrive too soon (for me, anyway) this year in California. I like spring, but I think I like winter more, and I would be fine if spring took its time arriving. However, what started out as a wetter and colder winter than usual here, ended seeming like a very short and mostly mild season as our winter rains more or less stopped in January and February and the hoped-for “March Miracle” of late season rain never came. Instead, as I write this in mid-March, we are experiencing beautiful, sunny weather with temperatures more typical of April than of March.

Against this backdrop I decided to make at least one more trip to some of my favorite San Joaquin Valley migratory bird refuges to photograph geese, cranes, herons, ibises, white pelicans, egrets, and whatever else I could find. Arriving in the Valley very early, in the first dim light I could see that it was a clear morning. I prefer a bit of fog, but dawn light is good light in any case. But as I got closer to the refuge, I was surprised but pleased to see some fog forming over this very wet and marshy area, and before long there was some quite nice fog filling in as the sun began to light the high clouds above. The effects of early morning light in fog can be quite subtle, but a favorite sort of light is that which comes faintly through partially clearing mist, casting a bit of light on features like this tree and parting enough to reveal the sky overhead. Because this light and atmosphere were so appealing – and because it can be darned hard to photograph birds in fog! – I took a break from bird photography and spent a bit of time shooting elements in this foggy landscape.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Migration

March 11, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese fly across a cloud-filled late winter sky, San Joaquin Valley

By all of the usual standards, this was a spectacularly beautiful weekend here in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. Yesterday the temperature reached into the low seventy-degree range as I drove up US-5 from one photography location to another. People were wearing shorts. Daylight savings time began today (and I’ll complain about that elsewhere! ;-) and the light feels like it lasts an hour longer. The weeds are coming up in our garden, but that means that we’ll have a vegetable garden again before long.

I imagine that anyone reading this who lives in a place with real winter won’t understand this, but I have mixed feelings about the end of winter. I’m much more interested in the extremes of winter weather, and every spring I realize that it will likely be months until I again see 30+ foot waves along the Pacific coast, new snow in the Sierra, a good rain storm, or the arrival of migratory birds in the Central Valley. The main purpose of this weekend’s drive around the San Joaquin Valley, the lower Sacramento Valley, and areas of the delta was to visit those birds one more time before the marshes dry up and the birds head back to the north. I made this photograph in the morning when, to my surprise, what started out looking like a clear spring-like day turned foggy and more like winter. The birds were still there – and in large numbers in many places – and at one point lines of them flew in front of this cloud for several minutes.

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

Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees

March 10, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Red rock sandstone terrain, trees, and brush line a canyon bottom in the high country of Zion National Park

Yes, I’m still working that vein of October 2012 Utah photographs! This one came from a productive day, though it wasn’t an easy one, during which we spent a lot of time along the Mount Carmel Highway that passes through the high country of the park, looking for fall color and juxtapositions of light and rock and trees.

This rough terrain varies in its susceptibility to being photographed as the light changes. Areas that might be muted while in shadow can become highlighted and separated from background terrain when the sun strikes them. On the other hand, certain subjects such as fall foliage may be almost impossible to photograph in direct light, but when they fall into shadows the soft and diffuse light can change them. This photograph combines the shadows and the direct light, with the sun lighting a few trees, especially those at the top of the foreground red rock, and letting them stand out against the background terrain that is in the shadows.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Salt Flats and Waterways

March 9, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Seasonal creeks twist though salt flats of Death Valley, Death Valley National Park, California

Since I have recently posted a few other photograph from this same location and with some of the same commentary that I might include here, I’ll try to keep this description a bit short. The photograph was made from the top of Dantes View, the Death Valley observation point that is about a mile above the lowest part of the Valley near Badwater. The panorama from Dantes View almost overwhelmingly expansive, so on this visit I though that rather than just trying to photograph that immensity, I would also use a long focal length lens to try to isolate and pick out some smaller portions of the overall scene.

This photograph shows a section of the salt flats, surrounded by browner areas that include more gravel. A darker foreground area that runs along the road is visible at the bottom of the photograph, and the upper corner includes the area where the West Side Drive runs between the flats and the lower slopes of the Panamint Range. The many waterways crossing the flats and then converging on the salt area are evidence of the role water plays in the creation of this barren terrain.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: usa

Tree, Fog, Dawn Sky

Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees

Salt Flats and Waterways

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