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Morning fog settling over a still lake so I can get this awesome reflection though I have no idea where this was, except it was somewhere in Jasper
Wetland Reflections, Dawn. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Dawn clouds reflected in the surface of a wetland pond, Pacific Flyway, New Year’s Day 2022.
The dawn light is remarkably fleeting. The space between “too early” and “too late” can be extremely small, and on a morning like this one I might have only moments to see what is happening in the sky, find a foreground, create a composition, and make some photographs. When the light arrived and a small group of clouds appeared in the distance, I first worked handheld with a long lens in order to narrow the view and get some flexibility about positioning the tree. Then I grabbed another camera that had a wider angle lens attached, and I made a few photographs that included more sky and water than seen here.
I have photographed in some remarkable landscape, where particular objects demanded attention. But this landscape along the Pacific Flyway is not that sort of place. To be honest, often it can seem plain and even boring. Much of the area is agricultural country, and nearby there are large cattle operations — not the most scenic or pleasant of landscape subjects. But for a few months each winter the fields flood and migratory birds return, and when the conditions are just right magic may happen.
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.
Check this out Large!
I was finally back to Mono Lake for my second visit. The first visit here with the bootcamp crew wasn't so pleasant. Hwy 120 was closed due to snow. We attempted try to hike to the lake through 3 feet of snow, and that was a complete disaster as well, so coming back to this location for another try was very exciting to me. The excitement was sucked completely out of me when I saw that there where crystal clear blue skies when I arrived. At one point this guy comes up to me about an hour before sunset and said "wow look at this light, it gets no better than this." I'm not sure what light this guy was seeing, but believe me the light was not great, especially at the time that he was talking about. I was somewhat discouraged, but when I arrived I saw reflections of the tufas everywhere. I figured I'd concentrate on the reflections than photograph this wide view with an uninteresting sky. I walked around over an hour to see if I could see a comp that I would like to possibly shoot once the sun fell behind the mountains. Although there were clear blue skies, I knew that there would be some type of afterglow towards the east and if I stuck around I may be able to make something happen. The water was completely still, the reflections were like glass. It was somewhat eerie to see the water so still. Sure enough the afterglow came. I wasn't expecting the glow to be this intense. The glow on the horizon was incredible. When I took my first shot, I couldn't believe how clean the raw file was. I didn't use any filters at all. No CPL no grad....nothing. One exposure.
Hope you guys enjoy the image, have a great week, and happy shooting.
And I have to thank my buddy Jean Day for encouraging me to post this image, because if it weren't for her, this may have been sitting for a while in the hard drive. Thanks buddy!