Geese, Field, Twilight. San Joaquin Valley, California. February 15, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Ross’s geese fly above winter fields at twilight
The edges of the day are the most magical times in these Central Valley wetlands — from the thick morning tule fog that hides everything from sight and mutes sound, to the hazy evening twilight as the light decreases and takes on the dusk colors. A huge flock of geese was mostly settled in on this newly mown corn field, but every so often they would suddenly take flight and pass back and forth above the fields before settling down once again.
By the time this group flew past the light was failing quickly. I had a long lens on my camera, hardly the right thing for sharp photographs in deep twilight, and even pushing my ISO left me with very low shutter speeds. At this point, rather than fight, I go with the long shutter speeds and have a few final minutes working with the long exposure blur, tracking the flock but letting their motion and the background blur into abstract forms.
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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