Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Yellow And Orange Grove

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Yellow And Orange Grove
Autumn aspen grove in yellow and orange, Eastern Sierra Nevada

Yellow And Orange Grove. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn aspen grove in yellow and orange, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Autumn is a great time to be a photographer in California. Yesterday I was in the Central Valley to photograph sandhill cranes and geese (mostly Canada geese, with a few others mixed in here and there), and almost exactly one month ago I was in the Sierra Nevada photographing fall aspen groves. That color has now worked its way to the west side of the range and is currently expanding into the lowlands closer to the coast. (OK, I won’t get into the issue with wildfire smoke. For now…)

I made this photograph very late in the day, in an Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon where the tall peaks of the crest brought the area into shadow well before actual sunset. I had arrived in time for the last backlight of the day on these trees, then sticking around long enough to photograph them in the soft, shadowed light. (I continued to follow that line of shadow back down the canyon to the east after photographing here.) The leaning trees are most likely the result of an active beaver population in this canyon, and the gnawed trunks nearby are evidence of their busywork.

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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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Cranes In Motion, Dawn

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Cranes In Motion, Dawn
A flock of sandhill cranes in motion in dawn light

Cranes In Motion, Dawn. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of sandhill cranes in motion in dawn light.

As autumn shifts towards winter, as daylight savings time ends, and as the nights get longer… the time of year I think of as migratory bird season begins. All over the northern hemisphere birds that breed in more northerly locations during the warm months head south to find more hospitable locations to spend the winter — places with food and relatively warmer temperatures. In many places the migration has started and — at least from the perspective of those of us who live in the migratory destinations — the birds have arrived and will continue to do so over the next month of so.

Earlier this week I headed towards on such location to drop of some prints at California’s Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival. (If you are thinking of going… it ends on Sunday, November 3 this year. If you missed it this year, visit the site and sign up for information about future events.) Since I was driving over there in the morning anyway, I decided to leave early enough to check out some sandhill crane locations at sunrise. This was one of the first crane photos of the new season, and as an unruly flock of the birds passed by I photographed them with a longer shutter speed, allowing motion blur to accentuate their motion, and over-exposing to produce a high-key interpretation.

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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Silo Walls

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Silo Walls
Metal silo walls, California Central Valley farm land

Silo Walls. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Metal silo walls, California Central Valley farm land.

On the first day of November I made my first bird photography foray of the fall season. In a way it was almost an accident. I had to deliver three prints to the Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi in the morning, and since I was getting on the road quite early anyway I figured that I could try to be at one of the crane locations by dawn on my way there. Arriving more or less as the first sunlight came over the horizon, I opened my car door and heard that amazing and wonderful sound of the migratory birds. There’s nothing quite like it!

I photographed just a bit — the photography wasn’t going to be an all-day affair this time. Then I continued on the narrow backroad, heading further away from the main highway and on into the agricultural country. I stopped at this collection of silos, which I have photographed in the past, and this time thought I’d move in close and photograph details and juxtapositions rather than the larger scene.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Events, Locations, News, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife, Shows

Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival

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Every November there is a Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi, California, celebrating the return of these marvelous birds. I’ve been meaning to enter some of my crane photographs for the past few years, and this year I finally did. Here are the three photographs appearing in the art exhibit at the festival.

I made the first one, “Cranes and Geese, Winter Fog” on a marvelous February morning a while ago. I had never seen so many birds at once, nor seen them quite this active. On top of that, the tule fog was just beginning to break up, and the atmosphere was luminous.

Cranes and Geese, Winter Fog
A foggy San Joaquin Valley winter landscape filled with geese and cranes

The second is “Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight,” a juxtaposition of two of the birds against the blue winter sky.

Two Sandhill Cranes in Flight
A pair of lesser sandhill cranes in flight above California’s San Joaquin Valley

Finally, “Taking Flight, Sandhill Cranes” is a photograph of a group of cranes taking off from a shallow pond and heading toward the faint light of the rising sun on a very foggy morning.

Taking Flight, Sandhill Cranes
A group of sandhill cranes takes to the morning sky above foggy marshland

If you are curious about these birds and want to know more and you life in Central California, a trip to the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival this weekend can get you started. In addition to the art exhibit, there are lectures and guided tours to some of the nearby locations where you can find these birds. And the birds are there — I saw thousands of them this morning.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.