Tag Archives: valley

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

Geese at First Light

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Geese at First Light
A flock of geese catch the first light above the Sacramento Valley

Geese at First Light. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of geese catch the first light above the Sacramento Valley

I’ll begin by briefly repeating the background of my visit to this place. Last winter, after several years of photographing migratory birds enthusiastically at some wonderful and familiar locations, I decided it was time to expand my horizons a bit. I set out to explore a few other new (to me) places where the birds can be found, mostly further north in California that I typically go to photograph this subject. These trips eventually took me all the way up to the far northeast corner of the state and even into Oregon, but the first excursion was to some areas in the Sacramento Valley.

I had read about this area and passed by it many times, including once or twice during the “bird season.” Shortly after New Years Day I decided to make a visit focused on photographing birds — and, as is my habit, the landscapes they inhabit. Many hours before dawn I set out on the long, dark drive to the north. I arrived at this place moments before sunrise and had to work quickly on pure instinct to find photographs in this unfamiliar landscape. I quickly discovered areas where there were birds, including this flock of geese taking to the air in the first sunlight of the morning.

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 and Amazon.
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Commentary, Locations, Reader Questions

Visiting (And Photographing) Yosemite In Summer

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Today I’m sharing something I wrote elsewhere in response to a question by someone who plans to visit and photograph Yosemite National Park in late August. I have changed elements of the original post, shortening the original question and editing my own response a bit. Enjoy!

Spring Trees, Waterfall Mist
“Spring Trees, Waterfall Mist ” — Waterfall mist fills the air around sunlit maple trees with new spring leaves, Yosemite National Park

I’ve never been to Yosemite but I have a chance to visit for a week in late August. I’ve heard that’s a very busy time, but that’s the time I have available and I’d love to see it.

I’ve ordered Michael Frye’s book  but am hoping for some additional information. I’m thinking of coming in the south entrance and am wondering of this is a good approach. Also, if anyone has any lodging ideas I’d love to hear them.

Michael’s book (“The Photographers Guide to Yosemite“) is a great place to start. It will help you find some of the subjects that you probably have in mind to photograph, and it is full of Michael’s general situational knowledge and experience about the park. Michael has an intimate knowledge of the place — not just of locations, but of daily and seasonal variations and more.

You are right that this will be a very busy time in Yosemite — it is more or less peak season! This affects not only the Valley, but also high country areas such as Tuolumne Meadows. Here are some thoughts about your visit.

Continue reading Visiting (And Photographing) Yosemite In Summer →
Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Winter Dawn, Sacramento Valley

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Winter Dawn, Sacramento Valley
Winter clouds at dawn above the Sacramento Valley

Winter Dawn, Sacramento Valley. Great Central Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter clouds at dawn above the Sacramento Valley

Today it is close to the end of June, the start of the hot season in California, and it has been nearly 100 degrees where I live and hotter than that where I made this photograph. It is, at it is every year, hard to believe that it was only months ago that I was out in this spot on a freezing January morning, with snow-covered peaks to my east and west, watching the first dawn light on these spectacular clouds and listening to the sounds of early morning flights of migratory birds across the wetlands.

For this I will get up at 3:00 am and drive three hours in the pre-dawn darkness. I had not visited this location before, and as I turned off of Interstate 5, the main artery up this valley, and headed east on a two-lane road I wasn’t sure what I would find. The sky was beginning to glow and it seemed that sunrise was coming soon — perhaps too soon for my arrival. I turned off onto a gravel road and headed into this refuge, passing the entrance and heading out onto the perimeter road just in time for this astonishing morning light show.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Wildflowers

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Desert Wildflowers
A carpet of desert spring flowers, Death Valley National Park

Desert Wildflowers. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A carpet of desert spring flowers, Death Valley National Park

My alternative title for this photograph might have been “What’s Underfoot.” We were a bit too later for this year’s (near?) superbloom in parts of southern Death Valley National Park, but we still found plenty of flowers during out late March visit. Many desert plants are opportunistic, holding off on their blooms in dry years and then going exuberantly wild in wetter years. This wasn’t one of the truly wet seasons, though it was wetter than the recent drought years might have suggested, and in many places the flowers responded.

I made this photograph in one of those Death Valley locations that might seem both very special and not at all special, depending on your orientation to the place. We drove out on a long road that traverses a high valley. By comparison to, say, the high peaks of the Sierra, the terrain seems unremarkable, with vast stretches of undifferentiated desert vegetation leading to dry and rocky ridges. But the vast space is special, in and of itself, and there turns out to be more to look at and experience than might first be apparent. I knew from previous visits that thick wildflowers were a possibility, and I knew that if we just pulled off the road and looked that we would find them. At one of these stops I simply took my camera and walked off a bit and found a dense carpet of plants and flowers, taking full advantage of this brief period of sunlight and a bit of moisture.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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