Tag Archives: valley

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees, Cliffs, and Clearing Autumn Storm

December 25, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Autumn storm clouds clear from granite cliffs of Yosemite Valley

I had a shorter time than usual for my late October Yosemite fall color this year. First off, I had some business to attend to in the town of Oakhurst, along the southern route into the park. I took care of that, drove to the Valley in beautiful fog and rain, photographed for a few hours, and headed back to Oakhurst. (More typically, I’ll stay in the Valley, even if it means camping in the rain.) The next morning I was up early, with good intentions about getting back to the Valley for the first light. But there were too many distractions on the drive — beautiful fall color in the forests, more fog, clouds filling valleys — and I didn’t get there until later.

It was another “interesting” weather day, mostly clearing, but still clouds hanging around. The clouds of autumn and winter are a favorite subject of mine here, so when I stopped to photograph these autumn trees along the edge of a meadow, I think it may have been at least partially an excuse to watch the clouds flowing back and forth along the tall granite walls, momentarily parting to reveal the details of the mountain and then closing up again. Here the faint afternoon sunlight is coming from the left and lighting the trees. The cliff is in shadow, hence that deep bluish tones of the rock, and thinning clouds pass by further up the flanks of the valley walls.

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Clearing Autumn Storm

December 24, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Clouds swirl around the cliffs of Yosemite Valley as an autumn storm begins to clear

I always make a point of visiting Yosemite Valley right around the very end of October (extending into the start of November) when fall colors come to the Valley — oak, cottonwood, dogwood, and more. This year things were busier than usual, and I was only able to squeeze in an evening and the following day, but it was still beautiful, as always.

Fall color in the Valley is different from that of the aspens on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Here it is closer to the color of the Sierra foothills and mid-elevation forests. It is also the time of year when the first winter-like storms begin to make it into California from the Gulf of Alaska. This visit coincided with one of those weather fronts, and much of my photography was done in rain, of rain, in the expectation that it would soon return, or in its aftermath. This photograph includes a few of the big, colorful Valley trees, with a backdrop of the cloud-shrouded cliffs.

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

The Cranes Return

December 15, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Lesser sandhill cranes return to wetland marshes in fading dusk light

There is a natural cycle to the day during the winter at these San Joaquin Valley wetland marshes — actually there are multiple cycles. One is the cycle of the animals themselves, responding to the dawn, moving to daytime activities, coming and going, then settling in once again for the night. Another is the cycle of the photographer or viewer of this wildlife, whose own patterns are inextricably linked to those of the birds and the light, but who also may sometimes choose when and where to focus efforts.

The midday and early afternoon hours are, at least most of the time, relatively quiet and slow. It makes sense that during the times of day when conditions are the most stable that the birds would also be more settled. (There are seasonal exceptions, including the late winter time when the winter residence of many birds is coming to an end and another migration cycle is about to begin.) The evening brings another transition, and one of the final and most impressive moments often comes after sunset with the dusk fly-in of the sandhill cranes. Long strings of these birds appear (usually from the south in this place), flying low and straight paths toward the places where they will land and spend the night.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-Tailed Hawk

December 13, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A red-tailed hawk perches on the top of a fence post.

Birds like this one are everyone in the west once you start looking for them, though they are not often easy to approach. In a place like this, where there are many thousands of other birds, these raptors are always there but in much smaller numbers. I frequently see them perched high in large trees or flying past, sometimes provoking reactions from the other birds.

This one teased me a bit. The first time I saw it, much earlier in the day, it was standing on this same fence post and watching a nearby field. Every so often it would take off and, I presume, hunt for something to eat before returning a few minutes later. I never was able to get close to it, so I stayed at a distance and watched. I returned much later in the day, when warm early sunset light was shining on the bird and starting to turn the sky pink. As I drove past on the gravel road it didn’t budge, so I stopped and rolled down a window and photographed it perching on “its” fence post.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: valley

Trees, Cliffs, and Clearing Autumn Storm

Clearing Autumn Storm

The Cranes Return

Red-Tailed Hawk

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