Tag Archives: morning

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Dawn Fog, California Hills

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Dawn Fog, California Hills
Sunrise fog drifts across springtime California hills under overcast skies.

Dawn Fog, California Hills. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunrise fog drifts across springtime California hills under overcast skies.

The fact that I’m unable to be in the field making new photographs right now is a good reminder that photography is more than taking a camera into the field to find and capture subjects. There is a lot that happens before the exposure — perhaps years of accumulated experience with subjects and how they might be photographs. And there is a lot that happens after the exposure — review, selection, experimentation, carrying out the plan for images that I had in mind when I made the exposures, and more. For now I’m living photographically mostly in that post-exposure world.

I photographed this scene on a memorable morning last spring in a remote area of California hills. I was there to photograph flowers, but this lovely morning of fog and soft dawn light distracted me. It was one of those wonderful unexpected moments in photography that reminded me of how much serendipity is involved in this endeavor.

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: Nature

Sunrise, Fog, Spring HIlls

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Sunrise, Fog, Spring HIlls
Soft dawn light and drifting fog above springtime California hills.

Sunrise, Fog, Spring HIlls. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft dawn light and drifting fog above springtime California hills.

This morning completely surprised me. I was in the inland hills of California, between the coastal valleys and the Central Valley, primarily to photograph the spring wildflowers. I had arrived late the night before, setting up my tent in a campground up in the hills before doing some late-day photography. I returned to my camp, made dinner, set my alarm for way before dawn, and went to sleep with a plan of driving down into the large valley nearby to photograph vast fields of flowers.

I got up well before dawn and tried to sneak quietly out of camp without disturbing the normal people who sleep in, fix coffee, have a nice breakfast, and only then head out. As I drove down the gravel road toward that valley I could see that it was completely covered by tule fog, much to my surprise given the arid nature of the place. However, off in the distance, in the direction of the rising sun, haze and drifting fog and soft dawn light produced an entirely different landscape than the one I had been looking for.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature

Flock of Cranes Taking Flight

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Flock of Cranes Taking Flight
A flock of cranes takes to the air early on a hazy winter morning.

Flock of Cranes Taking Flight. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of cranes takes to the air early on a hazy winter morning.

Most of the migratory geese have now left their California winter homes and are on their way back to the arctic shores for the summer. I was fortunate to be able to make a few trips out to see them before we were all locked down by the coronavirus pandemic. On the final visit, several weeks ago now, most of them had already departed.

I made this photograph near the beginning of March. (Remember those innocent days when we were just beginning to think about how our lives might change, but not yet registering the full impact?) This morning featured thin fog — enough of it to mute the light and the features of the landscape, nor to block that glow of dawn light on the bird as they took off toward the rising sun.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Creosote, Dunes, Shadows

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Creosote, Dunes, Shadows
A clump of creosote among dunes shadowed by early morning light.

Creosote, Dunes, Shadows. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A clump of creosote among dunes shadowed by early morning light.

This photograph comes from nearly one year ago on the 2019 edition of my annual early spring visits to Death Valley National Park. (There will be no spring visit this year, what with shelter-in-place orders and so forth — fortunately I was there in January.) The late March and early April time frame is often ideal for wildflowers and for splitting the difference between winter cold and the unbearable heat that arrives in spring. Is there a downside? Yes. Lots of other people seem to have the same idea, and the number increases every year.

The sand dunes are an unending source of photographic opportunities. I prefer to photograph them either very early in the morning or during the sunset to early dusk time periods, when the light goes through remarkable transitions. My favorites include the subtly colored dusk hours and the moments of first/last direct sun, when the light is warmly colored and there are transitory shadows. I usually steer clear of the most popular ares of the dunes, generally finding more interesting things out along their boundaries.

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.

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