Tag Archives: yellow

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

Autumn Wetland Trees

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Autumn Wetland Trees
Trees with autumn golden leaves against a foggy sky in California’s Central Valley.

Autumn Wetland Trees. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees with autumn golden leaves against a foggy sky in California’s Central Valley.

Yesterday I travelled down the Central California coast to photograph in what I think of as the upper Big Sur region, going as far as about Big Creek. I was originally thinking that I might have a new photograph from that endeavor to share today, but it did not quite happen. (Stay tuned though, I’m sure there will be something eventually.) So today’s photograph is a fall color subject that has been sitting on my computer for a while, awaiting its turn for sharing.

The photograph comes from a beautiful early December day, during the end of the “before times” when we could travel more freely. It was one of my first forays out into the Great Central Valley that autumn, largely to look for migratory bird arrivals but also to photograph the landscape. Light in this place is a tricky thing and can often be challenging. It can range from “blah” flat light through bright and harsh light, to fog so thick that you cannot see through it. There are ways to photograph in all of these, but they aren’t always easy. But every so often nature offers up some just plain beautiful light like I had this day. Diffused sunlight was striking the nearby trees with their autumn leaves, while the more distant sky was darkened and deepened by some fog and haze.

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

Wetland Trees, Late Autumn

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Wetland Trees, Late Autumn
A row of trees with fall color, Central Valley wetlands.

Wetland Trees, Late Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A row of trees with fall color, Central Valley wetlands.

If there is more beautiful light than muted late-autumn sun on colorful trees against a slightly darkened sky, I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen it. It was a foggy day in the Central Valley of California during this brief season between the heat of summer and early autumn and the cold and often gray winter. For a few weeks there is a surprising amount of autumn color out here, though it took me quite a long time to understand this.

Just when is autumn, anyway? I know that the calendar tells me it begins on the late-September autumnal equinox and that it ends on the December winter solstice, but that’s not quite what it feels like. I used to think that it was when the Eastern Sierra aspens change color, roughly during the first weeks of October. But years ago I began to tune in to subtle changes in the Sierra that clearly said “autumn is coming” as early as August. By September corn lilies, bilberry, and willows show color, but in the lowlands it is still effectively summer. In the Great Valley and in the coastal areas closer to where I live, real fall color doesn’t arrive until November, and it lasts well into December. I have even photographed “fall color” in January of the new year!

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

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

Autumn Wetland Color

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Autumn Wetland Color
A quiet morning under fog with autumn colors, Central Valley

Autumn Wetland Color. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A quiet morning under fog with autumn colors, Central Valley

Autumn, my favorite season, is a month-and-a-half away by the calendar — and in terms of California weather it is more like three months away. Here the transition is gradual, and the first month of solar autumn still feels more like summer on most days, with warm or even hot temperatures and no sign of changing colors, at least not in the areas closer to the coast. (By early October aspen color does come to the Eastern Sierra Nevada.) We may get teased by a few early weather fronts in October, but the actual rainy season doesn’t start until November — and perhaps later in our changing climate.

This photograph comes from an early December visit to the Great Central Valley, hardly what most people would regard as a great fall color destination. But these wetlands, many of which are preserved in wildlife refuges, attract me in late autumn and winter. Right around the fall/winter boundary there can actually be a fair amount of color out here if you know where to look for it. The main attraction is the migratory birds, but I’ve come to love the quiet landscapes of this region, too. Because I usually arrive very early — typically before sunrise — and on days when most people aren’t out here (I love fog!), I am often nearly the only person sharing these places with a few thousand of my bird friends.

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

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

Photographs: Nature

Right Angle Leaves

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Right Angle Leaves
A plant with a pattern of successive leaves growing at right angles to one another.

Right Angle Leaves. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A plant with a pattern of successive leaves growing at right angles to one another.

Two years ago we made a trip up the California coast, with our ultimate goal being the redwood parks in the far northern corner of the state. Our primary goal was photography — redwood trees, the coast, rhododendron blooms — but we also regarded this trip as a bit of a vacation. With that in mind we split the northward drive into two parts, and spent a couple of days largely hanging out in the town of Mendocino. We did a bit of photography, but we also did a bit of restaurant dining and other touristy things.

The town of Fort Bragg is just up the coast from here, and it turns out that there is an extensive botanical garden there — it rivals and surpasses those of many larger urban centers. So we spent part of a day wandering the grounds and photographing flowers and plants, including this specimen. In the soft shadow light the yellow to green colors and the fascinating geometries of the plant are easily visible.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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