Tag Archives: sky

Winter Sunrise Reflections

This is another photograph in the (very!) “not pastel” series, contrasting with some of the subtler winter photographs I have shared this winter. It was a very intense sunrise — as another photographer there said, it was almost too intense. I arrived before sunrise, and the cloud shield from a weather front approaching from the west extended over and past me toward the sunrise. This left the eastern sky quite bright, and the edge of the clouds glowed in morning light.

The view looks toward the Sierra Nevada from the Central Valley. While the fog and haze in the valley often obscure the range, in clearer conditions you can see virtually all of it along the eastern horizon. This gives a sense of the scale of these mountains, and the fact that we see light in the sky beyond them reinforces the extraordinary distances that are in view.


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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Sunrise, From the Valley to the Sierra

There is a lot going on in this photograph. Of course, the most obvious first impression is likely to be the wild light. It was a cloudy dawn, and in the gap between the edge of a weather front and the distant Sierra Nevada the sky colors were very intense. And, yes, those mountains are the crest of the Sierra Nevada as viewed from the farmlands of the Central Valley.

It was also hazy, and that made the atmosphere between me and the mountains glow orange For a moment as the sky lit up. Closer, out there among the trees dotting the landscape, tule fog hugged the ground and drifted, occasionally rising over obstructions.


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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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White-Fronted Geese

White-fronted geese, it sometimes seems, are among the “forgotten geese.” In a winter world featuring sometimes-huge flocks of white geese (snow, Ross’s) these darker colored birds can be visually underwhelming. But a closer look shows them to be quite interesting, from their white faces (which give them their name) to the fascinating patterns on their chests.

I have mentioned that my original interest in the California Central Valley migratory birds was almost exclusively about geese. It was through them that I began to discover other interesting birds — and there are lots of them! Back in those days I photographed geese in flight like a madman. But now I’m a bit more selective, looking for good light and birds in interesting and photogenic juxtapositions.


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Curving Street, Arezzo, Italy

We stopped in Arezzo for two nights, during our 2023 visit to Italy (and other places). We decided to stay in some smaller towns for a few days between visits to Florence and Siena. The idea was to see a bit of Italy that is less intensely devoted to tourism, and to have somef down time between the big cities. (Since we were on the road for ten weeks, that down time was welcomed!)

We understand that Arezzo is not on most people’s Italian tour map, but we enjoyed our visit. During walks in the city we visited a lovely park at the upper end of the town near their cathedral, from which we could view the beautiful surrounding countryside. We wandered the town’s narrow and curving streets, enjoying its slower pace and relative lack of crowds.


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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