![\"Cloudy](\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/wasatch-range-winter-solstice-mia-mcpherson-6440.jpg\" "\\"Cloudy")
Cloudy and gray Wasatch Mountains \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 1250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 200mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\nFrom the local pond I have wide, extensive views of the Wasatch Mountain Range<\/span><\/a> that I don’t have from home. Yesterday on the solstice heavy gray clouds hung over the mountains and the valley. To the south I could see snow falling which obscured those mountain peaks. I was happy that I stowed my camera in my Jeep when I headed out the door so I could take a few photos on the solstice.<\/p>\n I liked this view of the Wasatch Mountains enough that I decided to process this one frame in black and white too. I’m not sure which version I like the best. The in camera version has a softness to the colors that I find appealing. This black and white version has a crispness that I like too.<\/p>\n I did raise my camera for birds even though the low light wasn’t the best for bird photography when a flock of resting California Gulls on the ice caught my eyes. The ice on the pond showed the reflections of the gulls nicely and the gray mantles of the gulls seemed to mimic the colors of the clouds overhead.<\/p>\n Even though it was cloudy and gray I still celebrated the Winter Solstice and now look forward to longer, brighter days.<\/p>\n Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n Mia<\/p>\n Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Utah landscape photos. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my California Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My Winter Solstice was cloudy and gray. I wandered down to my local pond to take in my first day of winter views of the Wasatch Mountains plus a few birds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,520,709,26,773],"tags":[4333,4101,4828,4247,6938,3539,521,4064,4230,156,4069,4246,6910,1984,4156,4018,4050,8018,1164,4176,3996,373,13566],"class_list":["post-108946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-gulls","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-california-gull","tag-clouds","tag-cloudy","tag-flock","tag-gray","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-ice","tag-larus-californicus","tag-low-light-2","tag-mountains","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-peaks","tag-pond","tag-resting","tag-sky","tag-snow","tag-urban","tag-wasatch-mountain-range","tag-wasatch-mountains","tag-water","tag-winter","tag-winter-solstice"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/wasatch-range-winter-solstice-mia-mcpherson-6440.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-slc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119607,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/11\/wintry-wasatch-mountain-peaks\/","url_meta":{"origin":108946,"position":0},"title":"Wintry Wasatch Mountain Peaks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday afternoon, I drove down to my local pond, hoping that I could see the snowy Wasatch Mountain peaks through the clouds. This was about the best view I got.","rel":"","context":"In "Salt Lake County"","block_context":{"text":"Salt Lake County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/salt-lake-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wintry Wasatch Mountain peaks in January, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountains-snowy-day-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountains-snowy-day-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountains-snowy-day-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountains-snowy-day-mia-mcpherson-1633.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120162,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/27\/swirling-clouds-enveloping-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":108946,"position":1},"title":"Swirling Clouds Enveloping The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"There were swirling clouds enveloping some of the snow-covered peaks of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday morning. I felt simply compelled to take a few photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Salt Lake County"","block_context":{"text":"Salt Lake County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/salt-lake-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Clouds enveloping the Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountain-cloudy-view-mia-mcpherson-2821.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountain-cloudy-view-mia-mcpherson-2821.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountain-cloudy-view-mia-mcpherson-2821.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/wasatch-mountain-cloudy-view-mia-mcpherson-2821.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50665,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/01\/13\/broads-fork-twin-peaks-things-i-see-while-photographing-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":108946,"position":2},"title":"Broad’s Fork Twin Peaks – Things I See While Photographing Birds","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is Broad's Fork Twin Peaks, usually just called Twin Peaks, and I thought my view of it through my lens yesterday was absolutely stunning.","rel":"","context":"In "Salt Lake County"","block_context":{"text":"Salt Lake County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/salt-lake-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter view of Broad's Fork Twin Peaks from the valley, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/broads-fork-twin-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5230.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/broads-fork-twin-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5230.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/broads-fork-twin-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5230.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/broads-fork-twin-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5230.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108991,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/25\/christmas-day-american-kestrel\/","url_meta":{"origin":108946,"position":3},"title":"Christmas Day American Kestrel","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this Christmas Day American Kestrel in 2020 at Farmington Bay WMA. That Christmas Day was bright and sunny, today isn't going to be at all.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Christmas Day American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119272,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/21\/happy-winter-solstice-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":108946,"position":4},"title":"Happy Winter Solstice 2023","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I look forward to the Winter Solstice each year because it marks when the days start getting longer. On this day, I celebrate Mother Nature and our Mother Earth.","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/miscellaneous\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunlight and shadows on the snowy Wasatch Mountains, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wasatch-mountain-range-snowy-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wasatch-mountain-range-snowy-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5171.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wasatch-mountain-range-snowy-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5171.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/wasatch-mountain-range-snowy-peaks-mia-mcpherson-5171.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56000,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/09\/barn-owl-immature-bald-eagle-california-and-ring-billed-gulls\/","url_meta":{"origin":108946,"position":5},"title":"American Barn Owl, Immature Bald Eagle, California And Ring-billed Gulls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"So, even though I didn't get great photos yesterday I was glad to get out and photograph an American Barn Owl, Bald Eagle and these California and Ring-billed Gulls.","rel":"","context":"In "American Barn Owls"","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Bald Eagle in front of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-immature-mia-mcpherson-0978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-immature-mia-mcpherson-0978.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-immature-mia-mcpherson-0978.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bald-eagle-immature-mia-mcpherson-0978.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Cloudy](\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/wasatch-range-winter-solstice-black-and-white-mia-mcpherson-6440.jpg\" "\\"Cloudy")
Cloudy and gray Wasatch Mountains in black and white \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 1250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 200mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Flock](\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/california-gulls-winter-solstice-mia-mcpherson-6448.jpg\" "\\"Flock")
Flock of California Gulls on the Winter Solstice \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 1250, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n