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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

White Pelicans, Clouds

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White Pelicans, Clouds
Four white pelicans in a cloud-filled California late-autumn sky

White Pelicans, Clouds. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four white pelicans in a cloud-filled California late-autumn sky.

My timing was fortuitous on this morning. The white pelicans usually congrats in groups that appear to contain a few dozen individuals. The often stay more or less in one place for long periods of time, but eventually they decide to move. They take off in long strings of individuals, generally flying past not too far off the ground. This happens suddenly, and if I’m not in the right spot, rather than being close enough to photograph them I watch the brief spectacle from a distance. On this day I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.

I think of the white pelicans as being special. Perhaps most people wouldn’t, being mostly familiar with white versions of the bird. But I had a long acquaintance with the coastal brown pelicans before I ever realized that the white version was found locally. I’m sure they were around, but someone I didn’t notice — today I see them in quiet coastal waters, in inland ponds, and more. But even today, the coastal birds seem familiar and conventional to me, while these white birds still seem a bit exotic.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Parken Verboten

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Parken Verboten
A textured wall, a window, and a Parken verboten sign in Turnau

Parken Verboten. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A textured wall, a window, and a “Parken verboten!” sign in Turnau

Last summer we stayed in the small German town of Thurnau for a few nights. We were in the neighborhood for the Bayreuther Festspiele (“Bayreauth Festival”) — the famous location for performances of the operas of Richard Wagner. We have a “connection” (a relative of Patty’s) who lives in Germany and, perhaps to his surprise, he managed to get tickets. This was an opportunity that was too good to pass up, and we ended up seeing three performances.

Thurnau is not Bayreuth, but when everything else in Bayreuth is booked, Thurnau is close enough! Even better, we ended up staying at Schloss Thurnau which is (as you may have figured out if you know a few German words) a castle in this town. Attending one of these operas is a bit different than going to a “regular” opera back home — they are hours long and each intermission is an hour long, so you use up most of the afternoon and all of an evening attending a performance. However, we did have some time to go out and wander though nearly areas of the neat little town of Thurnau, and I made this photograph of a window, a practical sign, and an unusual wall in the neighborhood.

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

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.