Category Archives: Photographs: Nature

About to Land

About to Land
“About to Land” — Two geese landing at a Central Valley wetland pond.

On this sunny February day, we stopped briefly at a wetland area in California’s Central Valley, breaking up the long drive home from Death Valley National Park. We had actually departed the park one day earlier, stopping overnight and then continuing the next morning. Shortening the drive this way made it easier to get here before sunset. We found geese in a pond, and paused to make some photos before continuing on home.

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Desert Mountains and Reflection, Morning

Desert Mountains and Reflection, Morning
“Desert Mountains and Reflection, Morning” — Panamint Range mountains, clouds and morning light, reflected in Lake Manly.

Here is another morning photograph on Manly Lake. I know — that is a LOT of photographs of this feature! But I had several beautiful mornings there this season, and each produced quite a haul of pictures portraying different moods and surroundings. At the moment I made this one, a band of light was striking a ridge descending toward the lake, while the foreground and more distant shadows were in muted light.

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Tree, Sandstone Cliff

Tree, Sandstone Cliff
“Tree, Sandstone Cliff” — A solitary juniper tree grows at the base of the sandstone cliff.

This photograph comes from a visit to Southern Utah with a couple of photographer friends some years ago. We took a week to make a loop through the southern part of the state that took in Cottonwood Canyon, the Escalante area, and a few days in the Capitol Reef neighborhood. That latter location is where I made this photograph of a juniper tree in front of a massive sandstone cliff face.

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Stilts and Geese

Stilts and Geese
“Stilts and Geese” — Four black-necked stilts wade in front of a flock of snow geese.

This photograph comes from my second-to-last trip of the season to photograph migratory birds in California’s Central Valley. (See ya’ next year, geese!) Early in the season I try to time my visits for the best bird photography weather — a bit of morning fog, clearing later in the morning, and interesting clouds for sunset. But at this point, merely weeks before the geese would depart, I could not be as choosy!

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