Tag Archives: willow

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Flooded Meadow Near Greenstone Lake

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Flooded Meadow Near Greenstone Lake
Flooded Meadow Near Greenstone Lake

Flooded Meadow Near Greenstone Lake. Sierra Nevada, California. August 11, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late-season snow fields are reflected in the pond of a flooded alpine meadow near Greenstone Lake, Sierra Nevada.

During this year of heavy and late winter snowfall, there is still a surprising amount of snow in the Sierra Nevada high country. In the upper portion of this image you can see large snow fields (with much larger ones higher on the slope and out of the frame) at that base of this talus slope at around 10,000+ feet of elevation. During a more typical year, there would still be a few scattered snow fields, but nothing like we see this year. And because there is still so much snow, the plants that would normally be well-developed by now are still just emerging, and the creeks and ponds are overflowing, the meadows are flooded… and the mosquitos are having a field day!

This little pond among the boulder-filled meadows near Greenstone Lake at the far end of Saddlebag Lake was still overflowing with snowmelt water that reflected the extensive snow fields still on the talus field beyond. To get to this spot – in mid-August! – I had to cross a number of still frozen snow fields, follow trails that were flooded in places, and pick my way carefully across waterlogged meadows. It is going to be a short summer season in the high Sierra, but as a compensatory bonus we may still see wildflowers all the way into September.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Textures

Winter Willows, Cosumnes River

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Winter Willows, Cosumnes River
Winter Willows, Cosumnes River

Winter Willows, Cosumnes River. Central Valley, California. January 23, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bare winter willow trees in swampy land near the shore of the Cosumnes River, Central Valley, California.

(Thanks to John and Tom for setting me straight about this “brush” – these are dormant willow trees. I have changed the title of the photograph accordingly!)

When I arrived at the Cosumnes Wildlife Preserve on this morning it was very, very foggy – which is fine by me, since I like the moody and mysterious possibilities that come with shooting in the fog. However, on most mornings the fog – even the persistent Central Valley tule fog – eventually thins out and the light starts to shine through. For me the short period when the sun first begins to force its way through the gloom is a special one. For a period (often a short period) the weak light begins to define and highlight textures and forms and warm things up, but the softness of the light still remains. An analogy that comes to mind is that short but wonderful period of the day when spring skiing that occurs between the frozen morning slopes and the afternoon slush – it is a moment that is worth some difficulty to find.

I had wandered about in the thicker fog for a couple of hours when the sun first began to appear. I was in what had seemed like a pretty gray and drab place on a levee next to a lower area filled with brush. Then, as the light increased, the green colors of the branches began to glow and the contrast began to increase.

(I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I have absolutely no idea what these plants are. They are growing in a low area next to the levee that appears to flood periodically. If any one knows… )

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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: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Tire Shop and Palm Tree

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Tire Shop and Palm Tree
Tire Shop and Palm Tree

Tire Shop and Palm Tree. San Jose, California. June 13, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old and dilapidated tire shop with a single palm tree.

And now a break for something completely different from the Yosemite photographs I’ve posted for the better part of the past two weeks. Last weekend I had a couple hours of free time during the middle of the day – the toughest time for light, especially so close to the summer solstice. So I decided to go out for an urban walk and see if I could make some photographs that took on this bright and harsh light instead of trying to avoid it.

I have photographed this building before. It is an older garage that is now a tire shop. The building is, despite being painted and so forth, quite dilapidated – window and door frames don’t line up, the stucco is cracked and patched, and walls and roof lines intersect at odd angles. The paint job on the building couldn’t be more, well, boring. The building is roughly gray, with some blocky black lettering and the painted image of a tire. There is no vegetation and a plain sidewalk runs in front of it. The whole thing just seemed perfect for a harsh, midday light photograph.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Painted Bricks and Wall

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Painted Bricks and Wall
Painted Bricks and Wall

Painted Bricks and Wall. San Jose, California. January 12, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Painted bricks and painted-over graffiti on a suburban wall.

Somehow this little bit of painted surface caught my eye while I was out walking with my camera the other day. I follow a general rule of not photographing graffiti, especially the low-class street tagging sort of stuff, but I will photograph the interesting and varied ways that folks cover it up. Somehow it looks like the person who painted out this tag may have been in a bit of a hurry! I also find those painted bricks on the left side interesting and a bit strange.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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