There are birds in this photograph, but it is really (mostly) about these sunrise trees. I went to this spot early this winter morning because it has been a reliable place to find sandhill cranes as they fly out in the morning. There were cranes, though not that many. But as I waited for them the nearby fog began to thin, and the light of the rising sun turning eastern clouds blood-red illuminated the trees with intensely colorful light.
This photograph is in a category that I sometimes think of as “unreal light” images. We all understand that photographs are not objectively accurate “recordings” of the real world. They are subjective, personal views of how the photographer sees things. An aspect of this is that we “work” the colors in photographs in pleasing ways… and sometimes they get worked to excess, producing unbelievable results. Against that background, when nature produces such intense and saturated light, it is easy to chalk it up to something the photographer did. Sometimes that’s the case — but not here!
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.
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