Last fall I was in a popular Eastern Sierra location to photograph autumn aspen color. I had arrived before sunrise, while it was still pre-dawn twilight. I began photographing before the sun came up, continued through the arrival of first direct light, then moved on to some other nearby subjects. As I continued to work I could not help noticing that the full moon was setting in the western sky.
Continue reading Sierra Setting Moon at Sunrise
Photographing in the area around Salt Creek in Death Valley has long been a challenge. The place is intriguing, with its surprising creek flowing on the valley floor and its population of endangered pupfish. But visually it has generally not spoken to me. The light can also be challenging, especially with a large mountain range blocking late-day light. But I think there are possibilities in the area and I continue to visit from time to time.
Continue reading From Valley to Mountains
Salt Creek is a remarkable place, a perpetually flowing creek in the middle of the hottest place on earth and the home to thousands of endangered pupfish. But I’ve also found it to be a pretty difficult place to photograph. Light is challenging, especially late in the day, when tall mountains block the light. But I return and keep working at it!
I made this photograph as the first direct light was arriving. Just beyond the area accessible via a winding boardwalk, the creek flows in many branches through this eroded terrain. From here (behind my camera position) it passes through the area where pupfish are found, and shortly after that it flows out into the salt flats.
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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.
Surprisingly, for those of us who love winter, spring can evoke some of the same bittersweet feelings that autumn evokes. The season of interesting weather, dramatic skies, and migratory birds is passing. With that in mind I made one more visit to the Central Valley to see if the birds had departed. Some had — I saw no sandhill cranes at all. But I was treated to a stupendous dawn fly-out of geese.
I half expected that snow geese and Ross’s geese would have left already. In the past they were there at the beginning of the month but gone before the Ides of March. I arrived before sunrise and saw no geese at all, but a few minutes later I heard a few in the distance. I headed that way, and soon tremendous fly-outs began all over the surrounding wetlands. Thousands of geese took off into the colorful cloudy sky above the distant Sierra Nevada during the next half hour. And then they were gone.
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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.