Tag Archives: wetland

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Pond, Evening Sky

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Pond, Evening Sky
A quiet wetland pond reflects a cloud-streaked late-autumn evening sky

Pond, Evening Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A quiet wetland pond reflects a cloud-streaked late-autumn evening sky.

Often when I am photographing in places like this one I am there to find some “event” — something interesting that happens and which emerges from the background of less exotic things. If fact, on this evening I was there looking for something that I perhaps didn’t quite find — the intended subject was less present than I had hoped and the light played out differently that I expected.

On the other hand I did find something that may be equally rewarding and perhaps almost as difficult to find — a moment of deep quiet and stillness in the list minutes of daylight on this evening. The last bits of sky color faded among the linear clouds, reflected on the surface of a quiet pond, interrupted by a few plants and the ripples left from departing birds.

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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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands, Autumn Tree

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An isolated tree with autumn foliage and a foggy wetland morning

Wetlands, Autumn Tree. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An isolated tree with autumn foliage and a foggy wetland morning.

This colorful tree illustrates something I learned about California (and western states) fall color some years ago — namely that it lasts a lot longer than you might think! I can often spot a few first hints of autumn color in the Sierra Nevada high country as early as late August, when corn lily plants start to go dormant and turn yellow and then brown. Soon after that some meadows begin to turn red as bilberry changes colors and a few yellow aspen leaves turn up here and there. By late September there is plenty of color in the highest elevation areas, and it works its way down to the road-served front country by or before the start of October. The color continues to descend to valleys at the base of the eastern Sierra throughout October, and by the start of November there is a lot of color in the western Sierra foothills. This color spreads throughout the state’s lowlands through November and right on into December. A month ago, close to Christmas, I saw beautiful cottonwood color along a Southern California river.

I photographed this wetland tree (though there may be more than one on the small island) a few days into December, on a morning that was technically late-autumn but which felt more like winter. It had been foggy at sunrise, but as the morning wore on and the sun rose higher the fog began to thin. This soft light highlighted the yellow and folder colors of this quintessential California scene.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetland Evening Reflections

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Wetland Evening Reflections
A wetland pont reflects a late-autumn evening sky as a weather front approaches

Wetland Evening Reflections. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A wetland pont reflects a late-autumn evening sky as a weather front approaches

This wetland evening was representative of another seasonal “type” here in California — the conditions that arise as one of our Gulf of Alaska weather fronts approaches the state. Once the storm arrives the light can be quite gray, but there is a transitional period when beautiful high clouds begin to move in, but are still broken enough to reveal the sky and to allow direct sunlight to illuminate the landscape and sky.

This was one of those evenings. As it became later the conditions changed from clear to increasingly cloudy. By the time I made this photograph the sun had already dropped behind the clouds to the west, and the light became much softer and much less warm in color. Yet, to my north some of that color still appeared in the higher clouds, and I stopped to photograph this sky and its reflection in a shallow pond.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Pond, Clearing Fog, Morning Light

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Pond, Clearing Fog, Morning Light
Water plants and clearing fog in morning light over a wetland pond

Pond, Clearing Fog, Morning Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Water plants and clearing fog in morning light over a wetland pond.

Luckily for me, I live in a part of the world with lots of opportunities to find watery landscapes that may be affected by fog, mist, clouds, rain, and even a brilliant sunrise or sunset. I live less than an hour from the California coast, and only a few hours from spectacular places such as the Big Sur Coast and Point Reyes National Monument. There are many other places not far away that feature this things — water, light, and atmosphere — and if I visit at the right times I get the bonus of quiet and stillness.

I made this photograph on one of those foggy mornings near water. The sun had come up already and the spectacular dawn and immediate post-dawn light was gone. But as the sun rises it also warms the air, and the fog begins to thin and dissipate. When I came upon these interesting water plants, going to brown at the end of their season, the air had cleared enough to begin to reveal more distant details under the soft but directional 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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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